A light dusting of the season's first snow coats a pair of fern fronds in the mountains near Jigokudani Monkey Park, Nagano Prefecture, Japan.

The air was so humid and cold that the snow seemed to materialize right from the atmosphere. Due to the perversity of happenstance and planning, we opted for a hike in the mountains on the one day when visibility was near zero and temperatures were below freezing. None of us were dressed quite warmly enough, but the snow revealed details in the vegetation that caught the eye. My wife even discovered an intact spider web coated in frozen crystals. I tried to photograph it but it was very difficult given my height, it's position relative to the ground (close to it), and my lack of proper tripod (travel tripod was too short). It seems some things are best preserved in memory.

I wish I had more time to comment on people's photos here on Flickr! Work has been all-consuming of late, and the skiing has been pretty good in Colorado this year...

Happy start of spring to all!

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Make:	NIKON CORPORATION
Model:	NIKON D750
Exposure:	0.013 sec (1/80)
Aperture:	f/8.0
ISO Speed:	1100
Focal Length:	66 mm
Lens:	24.0-120.0 mm f/4.0