Found art – Minutia in the melting snow

I took a mini expedition in my back yard this morning, looking for unusual formations in the melting snow. Some of the things I discovered were birch catkin scales. If the ground were bare you wouldn’t even notice them since they are only about 1 centimeter long.

The second photo is of a leaf, melting its way through the snow. As the leaf absorbs the sun’s heat is usually melts a leaf-shaped hole into the snow.  In this instance a lattice of ice that formed over the leaf was left behind.

Finally, even twigs form interesting shapes as they melt their way through the snow.