The winter brings wonderful opportunities to the photographer who loves to photograph scenes outdoors.

Some of you may remember how I was able to locate one of Dick Cheney's undisclosed rural locations on moving day back in January, 2009:

While I am always game for a long hike on a winter's day providing it's not too chilly, I also look closer to home for winter-related scenes to snap some shots of.

Yesterday, I happened to spot a clean piece of free form ice near my driveway and carefully moved it to the top of some medium sized rocks. Below are my various photos taken of the "ice/rock sculpture" with both close up and more distant angles.

Using a little imagination I have added some imaginary scenes the ice conjures up:

This part of the ice reminded me of a bird's head and beak...

A great abyss lies beyond the edge of this sheer edge:

I picture myself on the edge of an icy crevasse not far from base camp at Mt. Everest:

 Bonus addition to the post at 10 AM:

(Click on the image for the article.)

It began in Tunisia, where the dictator's power grabbing and high living crossed a line of shamelessness, and a commonplace bit of government callousness against an ordinary citizen — a 26-year-old street vendor named Mohamed Bouazizi — became the final straw. Bouazizi lived in the charmless Tunisian town of Sidi Bouzid, 125 miles south of Tunis. On a Friday morning almost exactly a year ago, he set out for work, selling produce from a cart. Police had hassled Bouazizi routinely for years, his family says, fining him, making him jump through bureaucratic hoops. On Dec. 17, 2010, a cop started giving him grief yet again. She confiscated his scale and allegedly slapped him. He walked straight to the provincial-capital building to complain and got no response. At the gate, he drenched himself in paint thinner and lit a match."

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So America's great 21st century contribution to fomenting freedom abroad was not imposing it militarily but enabling it technologically, as an epiphenomenon of globalization. And for a second act, globalization returned the favor, turning democratic uprisings in developing countries into inspirational exports for the rich world. "We were on the receiving side," Egyptian presidential candidate Amr Moussa told me, "and now we are on the sending side. We have contributed to this global movement for change. There's a new spirit. The grassroots are revolting — young people on Wall Street and young people in Europe."

 Personal photos and text are © 2011 by B+Co., Inc.