{"id":737,"date":"2013-03-13T17:21:33","date_gmt":"2013-03-13T23:21:33","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.mikemacdonald.com\/blog\/?p=737"},"modified":"2014-02-26T14:34:05","modified_gmt":"2014-02-26T20:34:05","slug":"winter-poem-stop-and-look-up","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.chicagonature.com\/blog\/index.php\/nature\/winter-poem-stop-and-look-up\/","title":{"rendered":"Stop and Look Up: A Winter Daydream"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"The

The dream of winter can, at least for a moment, take you to another place, away from the worries of the world. Maybe, it’s a journey to an enchanted kingdom or a fairy tale of old oak matriarchs, who, throughout the night, donned the falling snow, so that in the glow of the morning sun they would, for at least a time, be restored to their golden youth, transformed into young and shining maidens of lace.
Spears Woods in Willow Springs, Illinois<\/p><\/div>\n

Stop and Look Up<\/span><\/b><\/p>\n

Sun and snow on the trail, slip-sliding with ease,<\/p>\n

Stop and look up, see the lace in the trees.<\/p>\n

Take your mind off the cold, as your fingers they freeze,<\/p>\n

Stop and look up, see the lace in the trees.<\/p>\n

Forget your life problems, in all scales and degrees,<\/p>\n

Stop and look up, see the lace in the trees.<\/p>\n

An enchanted new realm, where you have the keys:<\/p>\n

Just stop and look up, see the lace in the trees.<\/p>\n

But, in this fragile world, the sun is the master,<\/p>\n

too much love from the star turns white lace to wet plaster.<\/p>\n

As I travelled the realm, of white chambers and walls,<\/p>\n

came the cracking and crumbling of great sculptures and halls.<\/p>\n

Falling white all around me, as the sun loved the lace,<\/p>\n

I crashed back to earth, a cold slap to my face.<\/p>\n

In clearing my eyes of the snow that had plopped,<\/p>\n

Life was now looking up, now that, finally, I stopped.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Stop and Look Up Sun and snow on the trail, slip-sliding with ease, Stop and look up, see the lace in the trees. Take your mind off the cold, as your fingers they freeze, Stop and look up, see the … Continue reading 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For me, the beginning of spring does not arrive in a fanfare of color. Rather, it begins subtly, when sometime in March, speckled maroon and yellow spathes\u00a0of skunk cabbage (Symplocarpus foetidus) quietly emerge from beneath a layer of snow\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Biodiversity"","block_context":{"text":"Biodiversity","link":"https:\/\/www.chicagonature.com\/blog\/index.php\/category\/nature\/biodiversity-nature\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Frazil ice formed during the frigid night on the surface of Sawmill Creek at Waterfall Glen Forest Preserve in DuPage County, Illinois. \u00a92013 Mike MacDonald Photography\u2014All Rights Reserved. Please Contact Mike MacDonald for permission to use this or any image.","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.chicagonature.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/01\/Ice-130122-0010-00-FINAL-600px-Copyright.jpg?fit=400%2C600&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":1162,"url":"https:\/\/www.chicagonature.com\/blog\/index.php\/nature\/winter-red\/","url_meta":{"origin":737,"position":2},"title":"Winter Red","author":"Mike MacDonald","date":"January 31, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"Winter Red So far this winter, the magic of frozen white was nowhere to be found. So, I tried to photograph it, anyway. With dense fog predicted for the morning of Dec. 24, I visited Illinois Beach Nature Preserve in Zion, Illinois. The fog wasn't as dense as I had\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Chicago Nature"","block_context":{"text":"Chicago Nature","link":"https:\/\/www.chicagonature.com\/blog\/index.php\/category\/illinois-nature-photography\/chicago-nature\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"The winter fog added a sense of mystery over the sand savanna of black oak and holly.","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.chicagonature.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/IL-Beach-SP-231224-0010-UNCROPPED-2000px-copyright-sRGB.jpg?fit=1200%2C900&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.chicagonature.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/IL-Beach-SP-231224-0010-UNCROPPED-2000px-copyright-sRGB.jpg?fit=1200%2C900&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.chicagonature.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/IL-Beach-SP-231224-0010-UNCROPPED-2000px-copyright-sRGB.jpg?fit=1200%2C900&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.chicagonature.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/IL-Beach-SP-231224-0010-UNCROPPED-2000px-copyright-sRGB.jpg?fit=1200%2C900&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.chicagonature.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/IL-Beach-SP-231224-0010-UNCROPPED-2000px-copyright-sRGB.jpg?fit=1200%2C900&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":1071,"url":"https:\/\/www.chicagonature.com\/blog\/index.php\/nature\/the-extraordinary-in-the-ordinary\/","url_meta":{"origin":737,"position":3},"title":"The Extraordinary in the “Ordinary”","author":"Mike MacDonald","date":"February 3, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"The Extraordinary in the \"Ordinary\" I am both haunted and fascinated by a phrase that's often used to praise and describe my work. It all came to a head one day after I performed my one-man show about Chicago nature. Three audience members separately visited me at my book-signing table\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Chicago Nature"","block_context":{"text":"Chicago Nature","link":"https:\/\/www.chicagonature.com\/blog\/index.php\/category\/illinois-nature-photography\/chicago-nature\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"The winter sun warms the oak savanna on the kame at Bluff Spring Fen in Elgin, Illinois.","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.chicagonature.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/Bluff-Spring-Fen-Snow_Ice-220125-0010-FS-FINAL-800px-copyright-sRGB.jpg?fit=582%2C800&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.chicagonature.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/Bluff-Spring-Fen-Snow_Ice-220125-0010-FS-FINAL-800px-copyright-sRGB.jpg?fit=582%2C800&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.chicagonature.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/Bluff-Spring-Fen-Snow_Ice-220125-0010-FS-FINAL-800px-copyright-sRGB.jpg?fit=582%2C800&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":1172,"url":"https:\/\/www.chicagonature.com\/blog\/index.php\/illinois-nature-photography\/go-with-the-blow\/","url_meta":{"origin":737,"position":4},"title":"Go With the Blow","author":"Mike MacDonald","date":"February 1, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"Go With the Blow Well, I did my first below-zero photo shoot of the winter season on January 15.\u00a0 It was one below, so it qualified. Most of the time, the wind is my nemesis. But on this bitter afternoon, instead of fighting it, I decided to go with the\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Chicago Nature"","block_context":{"text":"Chicago Nature","link":"https:\/\/www.chicagonature.com\/blog\/index.php\/category\/illinois-nature-photography\/chicago-nature\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"The wind whips the grasses along the edge of a partially frozen Dead River that empties into Lake Michigan.","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.chicagonature.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/IL-Beach-SP-Snow_Ice-240115-0010-FS-UNCROPPED-2000px-copyright-sRGB.jpg?fit=900%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.chicagonature.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/IL-Beach-SP-Snow_Ice-240115-0010-FS-UNCROPPED-2000px-copyright-sRGB.jpg?fit=900%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.chicagonature.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/IL-Beach-SP-Snow_Ice-240115-0010-FS-UNCROPPED-2000px-copyright-sRGB.jpg?fit=900%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.chicagonature.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/IL-Beach-SP-Snow_Ice-240115-0010-FS-UNCROPPED-2000px-copyright-sRGB.jpg?fit=900%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":312,"url":"https:\/\/www.chicagonature.com\/blog\/index.php\/nature\/winter-photography-on-the-coldest-days-winter-plays\/","url_meta":{"origin":737,"position":5},"title":"On the Coldest Days, Winter Plays","author":"Mike MacDonald","date":"January 31, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"There were some very cold days last week and most people stayed inside, but I know better. Because, it is\u00a0on the coldest days when winter\u00a0plays and her plans\u00a0change to\u00a0mischief and whimsy. After years of winter photography, I still never know what surprises winter will conjure. And\u00a0this is why\u00a0I am\u00a0always excited\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Chicago Nature"","block_context":{"text":"Chicago Nature","link":"https:\/\/www.chicagonature.com\/blog\/index.php\/category\/illinois-nature-photography\/chicago-nature\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Frazil ice formed during the frigid night on the surface of Sawmill Creek at Waterfall Glen Forest Preserve in DuPage County, Illinois. \u00a92013 Mike MacDonald Photography\u2014All Rights Reserved. Please Contact Mike MacDonald for permission to use this or any image.","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.chicagonature.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/01\/Ice-130122-0010-00-FINAL-600px-Copyright.jpg?fit=400%2C600&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.chicagonature.com\/blog\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/737","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.chicagonature.com\/blog\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.chicagonature.com\/blog\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.chicagonature.com\/blog\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.chicagonature.com\/blog\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=737"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.chicagonature.com\/blog\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/737\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":892,"href":"https:\/\/www.chicagonature.com\/blog\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/737\/revisions\/892"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.chicagonature.com\/blog\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=737"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.chicagonature.com\/blog\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=737"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.chicagonature.com\/blog\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=737"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}