Thank you for the great response to the first photo assignment of 2013.  In all, there were 19 submissions from all over the globe.  This time, I am going to write the recap while reading each entry for the first time.  Normally, I visit each one and think about it first.  This time it’s right off the cuff.

Sybil laments what a lot of people can sympathize with this time of year, it’s too frikkin’ cold!  Especially, if you are into getting your hands in the dirt and helping things grow.

Rita shares with us what it is like in Australia in the winter (during the northern hemisphere summer) with a nice collection if iPhone photos from Melbourne.

Some days I think I would like to have a winter like Nye does in the mid-Atlantic area of the United States.  The snow and ice show up overnight, close schools and melt away by lunch time.

Nell, from downstate New York, shows us the winter can be calm and consent on the beaches of Long Island.

Simone shows us another color if Ireland in the January cold with a collage of wintery plants.

While I got rid of shoveling my driveway a few years ago with a snowblower and I am not too keen on using snow for any kind of consumption, I do agree with Amy-Lynn on one thing, the snow sure is pretty when it trims the forest.

Debbie brings us back to upstate New York yet downstate enough where winter can be a ying-yang affair with snow.  Her beautiful and whimsy post about winter is a must see and read.

Karma gets grumpy during the winter yet she shows us the beautiful way winter decorates her lawn, how cold winter days allow here to enjoy a hot drink and snack, how her dogs love to play in the snow and her joy in watching the birds.  Hey, her post got her to solve a family mystery.  Not bad, eh?

When I did shovel the driveway, I felt a lot like Mike does about the chore and his very creative way of showing it to us is classic central New York. BTW, I still mow the lawn and get my thinking time in then. 🙂

We know it is frikkin’ cold but Lynn gives us a different prospective of winter in Nova Scotia. Maybe once the “newness” wears off, she’ll think differently.  Now, it is just fine as are her images.

Isa tells and shows us how life in Switzerland handles winter from plants to animals to humans by becoming dormant. Enjoy your books, Isa!

It always seems to be winter in Denmark and Birgitte always finds ways to capture both the beauty and the chilling realism of it for us.

Dawn lives near Detroit and she takes us to the annual winter event, the North American International Auto Show. There, most if not all the automobile manufacturers in the world shows of their latest models and concept cars to “Wow” consumers into buying their brand.  While I do love the Hot Wheels Camaro, Dawn, I would have loved to have seen the Boss 302 Mustang.  Maybe next year?

Truels takes us out into the Denmark winter were he gets out, down, close, warm and into the light.  Truels would make a good Disney photographer with his eye for details.

asurrenderedyear shares how winter is a time of inner and outer reflection and can be used to find peace and renewal. I like the photos of life looking out into the cold winter world of Toronto, Canada.

Would you think of India for a winter assignment? Sonali, who lives there, shows us in many ways the season of winter from a white salt dessert to the Himalayas.  He may have exhausted his photo archives for this assignment but I am sure glad he did.

Carsten, who is also from Denmark, first complains about the long winter.  Then he shows us how the light and shadows create astounding winter beauty even if it chills his heart.  Do not worry, however, as his heart is soon warmed by thoughts and times with his family.

Lastly, with the weather being un-winter-like during the assignment period, I decided to share with you how I spent most of my winters growing up and into my adult life by talking about my favorite winter sport: Ice Hockey. I know the topic surprised a few of you. 😉

I hope my first impressions of each of these posts spurred you on to click on the links and enjoy them for yourself and to make your own impressions of all this talented and generous group of bloggers/photographers/writers/poets/friends. Until next our next assignment, keep shooting!