Frozen January Days

Now that we've warmed up above freezing... now that my barn water has thawed and is happily flowing through my short, green hose... and now that the mud is sucking persistently at my boots again, I can look back on this week's icy cold and brilliantly sunny days fondly. I've decided that I don't mind bone-chilling cold when the sun is shining. I mean, have you ever noticed how the cold doesn't feel quite as, well, cold when sunshine reflects off the frozen landscape around you?

On one of my trips back from the barn, I was found myself mesmerized by almost everything I walked by, like:
...my Japanese maple tree:

...a single leaf encased in ice on a wooden beam:

...strands of ice seemingly growing sideways from a piece of wood:

...my beloved horseshoe:

...and a beautiful wooden post top covered in the most amazingly detailed sandy ice pellets:

Everything seems prettier decorated in a bit of ice:

...grape vines:

...moss and an ornamental pear leaf:

...a ceramic fireplace chimney:

...even a silly brick:

And this gorgeous, winter llama girl followed me back and forth along the fence line as I photographed, also enjoying the sunny sun... and seeing me out in it: