Birds, Movies, Winter

Winter Deepens: White on Red

73 Comments

Deep winter in Maine and another snowstorm last Friday. The birds flocked to the feeders and ate their fill, trying to keep warm in the frigid weather. This red beauty always catches my attention. If you look carefully,  you can see the snow falling in front of the cardinal.

I wasn’t sorry to see more snow. The gardens now have a good layer to protect them from the extreme cold.

But I do wonder: Can a pig fly when there’s snow on his wings?

In the backyard, I like the way most of the bee balm stems stand at attention.

In the front yard, there was also red. By late afternoon, the snow was up to our car’s hubcaps, and we knew the time had come to clean the driveway and walks.

Judging from the snow on the deck’s rail, I would say we got about six inches.

Inside there was red, too, with my little book, which came in the morning ahead of the storm. In a rare example of getting ready way ahead of time, Clif and I have been working on the Dog Angel for the next holiday season, when—we hope—we will be going to craft fairs again.

More white on red, just like outside our home during the winter. I hadn’t made this connection before, but now that I have, the book’s cover pleases me more than ever.

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In the winter in Maine there is no better time for movies, and on Sunday we watched Joel Cohen’s incredible The Tragedy of Macbeth. As a word person, I have been smitten by Shakespeare since I was in seventh grade, when we read a couple of his plays out loud in class.

In Cohen’s version, the words are still there. This is Shakespeare, after all. But oh the cinematography! Shot in black and white completely on sound stages, this play of murder and madness has the pitch and look of a fevered dream—internal,  psychological, and utterly compelling.

Tour de force is often overused, but that’s what this movie is. If you like Shakespeare, do watch Cohen’s The Tragedy of Macbeth. The  short trailer below gives some idea of the tone of the movie.

73 thoughts on “Winter Deepens: White on Red”

  2. I had heard about this film but haven’t seen it. We had to do Macbeth at school (the Scottish play…) and unlike you, I was put off Shakespeare at school, not appreciating him until I went to university. The pops of red in the snow are a delight to see. Stay warm!

  3. How lovely to make the connection between your book and your home. It is amazing to have such a colourful bird visiting your garden – it must be wonderful to spot him visiting the bird table.

  4. I think it must be thrilling to see your book complete! This looks like a lot of snow to my eyes – me, who has just had a swim and washed my hair in the pool because it has been 34 degrees C today and we’ve had no water in our taps!

  5. A great roundup from you, Laurie! I often think we have the same weather – though we have tall snowdrifts here now from three snowfalls that dumped more than 2 feet of snow in one week. Reminded me of “the old days” of winter in Ontario, when all the snowdrifts and roadsides were piled high. Congrats on the new book! Happy for you and Clif. The title sounds intriguing too.

  6. That is a beautiful snow and a lot of it. Cardinals are beautiful any time but they seem even more so in the snow. Your book cover is nice.

  8. Lovely snow and oh that bird is lovely. We too had heavy snow on the weekend. It was nice chatting with neighbours while cleaning the driveway 😁

  9. Congratulations on the book! It’s a sweet tale. We may have to get Apple+ for a month to see the movie. There was a cartoon in yesterday’s comics–a teacher was handing a paper back to Shakespeare, saying “Sorry, Shakespeare, you’ve failed! You made up more than 400 words!”

  10. Pretty snow pictures, Laurie… one thing we can say about winter is, it sure is pretty. I think you had more snow than we did. I can’t recollect which storm is which, seems every other day we get something! It was pretty darn cold this weekend though! A warm up this week, I think. Hard to believe it’s is only 5 weeks until spring!
    I share your hope that we’ll be able to attend shows and sales again this fall. It has been TOO long!

  13. Hi, Laurie – Your snow looks beautiful. Here on Vancouver Island it is 12C (53.6 F) today with green grass everywhere and lots of sunshine. I just finished eating lunch outdoors. But….all of this can change on a dime and we will get snow again soon before winter is over.

  14. Love that pig! 😉 Beyond a shadow of a doubt, pigs can fly with snow on their wings! 😉 Your pics are VERY snowy compared to Massachusetts. We’ve had the rain/ice/sleet thing going on, which is giving an end of season look (For now!).

  15. I really enjoyed this post, Laurie (Cardinals are my favorite!)! I was blessed with about 10 inches of snow here in SW MO last week–warm temps this week will surely melt it quickly. Congratulations on the new book (It looks precious!). I am going to watch MacBeth. It looks amazing! Thank you for sharing!

  18. Love the winter wonderland and the peaceful winter beauty!🙂 It’s wonderful to watch cardinals and wonderful movies on snowy days, still amazed by the cinematography in The Tragedy of Macbeth. How exciting your beautiful new book arrived and is ready for the fairs. Our daily COVID case numbers dropped again today and hopefully by the time it warms up things will have really improved.🙂

    1. Yes, amazing cinematography in Macbeth! I was completely enthralled. Hope those Covid numbers continue to drop so that we can at least have a taste normality.

  19. In your country, a red car makes sense. Just like your cardinal, it’s easier to see in the midst of all that snow! Perhaps your book’s cover will attract attention in the same way. It looks as if the new version of MacBeth is well done, but I’m just not in the mood for it just now. I’ll add it to the list, and go for the free week of Apple tv when I have a few things to watch.

    1. So true about the red car. Funny we have so much red at our home when blue is my favorite color. 😉 Macbeth will be there when you are ready for it.

  20. Lovely winter scenes, Laurie. And congratulations on a new book, and on being so far ahead of schedule. I hope your wish to participate in crafts fairs later this year will come true.

  21. Oh my goodness! that trailer is soooooo well-done! darkly enticing, spine-tingling, artistically teasing …. and a stellar cast to boot!

    I am fascinated by “The gardens now have a good layer to protect them from the extreme cold.” I have never considered more snow to be protective – now I know.

    Dog Angel look fabulous! You & Clif must be so thrilled that it is ready!

    1. Many thanks, Ju-Lyn. “The Tragedy of Macbeth” is a cinematic feast, dark and compelling. And, yes, we are pleased to have “The Dog Angel” ready for the next holiday season.

  22. Pingback: Winter Deepens: White on Red – Nelsapy

  24. I am loving all of these snowstorms!! So glad you are, too. Great shot of the cardinal. We haven’t seen many this year, mostly chickadees, nuthatches, and titmice at our window feeder. We’ve been wanting to put out bigger feeders for the birds for the last several years and just haven’t gotten around to it. Next winter will be the one!! Until then, I’ll enjoy all of your bird pictures 🙂

    Take good care, Laurie. We have a 2 hour delay this morning because of snow/rain. I hope yours is all snow!!

  27. I’m guessing that might be the story you wrote near Christmas…it was a good read. Great looking cover. I hope you do well with it.

  28. Laurie, I love the white on red comparisons, all aptly connected. Your photos are stunning, your book is a delight, and hopefully soon your car will be more red than white once again. On the plus side, you’ll always be able to find your car in the snow.

  30. I envy you your snow But I don’t want it until I have been shopping this afternoon. Fussy or what? 😉

  31. Confession time! A link to the Dog Angel has been on my “must read” list for weeks. Today’s post has finally prompted me to read it, and I’m so pleased I did. What a lovely, heart-warming story. I hope the book is successful, it deserves to be.

  33. I love your eye for red and your whimsical captions! I am eager to watch the Tragedy of MacBeth. And if you can, watch Kurosawa’s Throne of Blood, a Samurai take on MacBeth. I very much enjoyed that film.

  34. What a lovely colour for your Dog Angel book, it is very striking, is it for sale yet? I also love your beautiful red cardinals….. aren’t birds amazing, some can live through our scorching hot summers and some can live in your snowy conditions. I hope they have very warm nests!

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  36. I lived in the Midwest almost my entire life before we movedmoved to Arizona two years ago and I still miss the winter and the snow. Of course people here think I’m crazy, but that’s fine. Lol.

    janet

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