Seeing this winter-y scene has been giving me some 'cool respite' from the hot weather we've been having here. I wish I could experience it physically, but I will definitely imagine myself feeling a bit cooler once again!

The remaining light from the sunset has provided plenty of softness to the harsh winter scenery. Despite the whiteness of the landscape and the stark contrast between the snow and the tree silhouettes, some warm colors can be seen in the area where the sun has already disappeared. There is even enough light to see the consistent ' prints ' that are shown in the foreground. I'd imagine the prints to come from an animal, such as a squirrel, that made a number of hops across the snow. Perhaps to forage for some food for dinner or get to a new site for the night.

A large, slightly dark spot is shown on the right side of the photo, and it overlaps with most of the prints. I would imagine that there is less snow in that area as a result of the ice being a bit thinner than that of the other areas. There is even a circle within that spot where ice might have thawed out quite a bit and then froze again. I truly cannot imagine anyone venturing out to that very spot due to the risk of falling through if the ice should break!

The tree in the upper left corner of the photo seems a bit distracting. Moving slightly to the left of where this photo had been taken and then turning slightly to the right would help eliminate that tree and get more of the trees from the right side into the photo. The distant trees across the scene would remain in the photo after making such a move.

The sharpness of the photo is as explicit as the clear winter-y weather. There is no distraction whatsoever across the frozen lake from the distant trees; however, I wonder about the short dark line that is shown on the bottom edge of the photo. I would imagine this line to be another spot where the ice might be thinner?

Despite the freezing temperatures, the 50-yard rush, and the parking ticket, this beautiful winter scene is definitely worth the capture!