Nature’s White Quilt

Dec 14, 2022

By Christian Begeman

On December 11, the early morning sun broke through low hanging clouds and fog and onto a true winter wonderland in southeastern South Dakota. An early winter system dropping upwards of 10 inches of heavy, wet snow the previous Thursday along with a solid new layer of thick frost from the overnight fog changed the world into an icy work of art. The all-too-brief moment of warm sunshine on a perfectly frosted landscape is one of my favorite bits of winter. The beauty is fleeting; even the slightest breeze combined with the relative warmth of the sun causes the frost to drop to the ground far too soon.

I hadn’t planned on a photo escapade that morning, but after glimpsing the conditions, I quickly decided to get out and enjoy the scenery while the getting was good. Armed with a 100-400mm telephoto lens, a macro lens and long johns, I was heading north along the Big Sioux River faster than you can say “Jack Frost.”

I had a few locations in mind that featured vivid red barns that contrasted with the icy white of winter, but I also made sure to stop and shoot anything else that caught my eye. This included two adult bald eagles on the same tree along the Big Sioux south of Trent. I also took a walk in the tall grass at the Sioux Prairie Preserve near Colman, where my macro lens took over. I discovered unique formations of frost on grass, leaves of ground shrubs and even on a goldenrod gall.

The story of the goldenrod gall fly may not seem like something worth writing about here, but I find it fascinating that inside that very gall, a frosted and frozen larva (nearly frozen solid itself), is simply waiting for spring to emerge, find a mate and start the process all over again. One would think that the larvae is safely tucked away for the winter, but chickadees and downy woodpeckers often seek out the galls, break them open and have a nice meal.

The wonders and intricacies of nature never cease to amaze, even in winter. It makes me think of this quote about wintertime from Lewis Carroll, author of Alice in Wonderland: “I wonder if the snow loves the trees and fields, that it kisses them so gently? And then it covers them up snug, you know, with a white quilt; and perhaps it says, ‘Go to sleep, darlings, till the summer comes again.’”

We Dakotans know that the snow doesn’t always come kissing, but on a sunlit winter’s morn with no wind and frost filled scenery everywhere you look, it isn’t hard to imagine the world sleeping under that white quilt, just waiting for spring’s awakening.

Christian Begeman grew up in Isabel and now lives in Sioux Falls. When he's not working at Midco he is often on the road photographing South Dakota’s prettiest spots. Follow Begeman on his blog.