Delayed Snow

Although two months have passed since the massive snowfall (hint: sarcasm) hit the Austin area, I keep being drawn to some of the photos I took that day. On the way home from work is an area of recent road construction, and due to the extreme heat and drought last year, the grass never took root, so the ground remains barren and has begun to show signs of erosion following the winter rains. I like the contrasts set up by the snow and the dirt as only certain high places collected any accumulation of snow and the washed out areas became even more exposed.

The photo above does not give a true sense of the steep incline of the hill from the vantage point of the photograph. It almost appears to be a flat or descending area, but in reality the hill has a greater than 30 degree slope upward.


The photo above shows some of the snow collected around a gully washed out alongside the road. This gully has been growing for years and it is actually composed of heavy clay, so the water does not just wash out new ruts each rain as it does with softer soils. Here again, the snow collected on some of the higher points and exaggerates the depth of the gully.