At the end of the fall season, the birch trees often still have loads of seeds on their branches. During the winter, fresh snow covers the ground, leaving a clean canvas for the squirrels to work with. As they jump from branch to branch, birch seeds are shaken loose and drift to the ground as the breeze takes them.
Today, on my way to the mailbox, I discovered the squirrels had made a new Jackson Pollock action painting in the driveway. It was a nice picture in real life but, unfortunately, the lighting and viewing angle just didn’t work out for the camera. Birch seeds on snow is not an easy combination for the photographer. I had to get quite close to the ground before the seeds even showed up well.
In the spring, the snow melts away and each dusting of seeds is lowered onto the layer beneath it, building up like a desert pavement, until the snow is gone and the ground is blanketed with seeds. It is fortunate that so few seeds become trees.
