The same thing that happened last year

After I photographed frostweed ice on the morning of December 11th, the weather forecast called for another night with near-freezing temperatures in Austin. Sure enough, the next morning I found that more frostweed stalks in Great Hills Park had done their ice trick, so once again I took lots of pictures. What else is new?

After a good two hours, much of it spent hunched over or lying on the ground (because frostweed ice forms at the base of the plant’s stalk) I was ready to straighten up and head for home when the same thing happened that had happened to me after I took frostweed ice pictures in that very location last year: I discovered a discarded deer’s antler that was barely visible in the undergrowth. This new one was the largest I’ve found, with a curving distance of 15 inches from base to farthest tip.

In 2011 I highlighted the part of the antler that had been attached to the deer’s head, so with this latest antler I’ve given you a different view. Don’t you love the bumpy texture, and don’t you wonder, like me, whether the bumps serve some purpose?

© 2012 Steven Schwartzman