Thursday, December 30, 2004

Wilson A. Bentley (1865 - 1931)

A favorite children's book of mine is Snowflake Bentley, written by Jaqueline Briggs Martin, and illustrated with Mary Azarian's woodcuts. It is about the life of Wilson Bentley and his work studying snowflakes and ice crystals.

"In the days
when farmers worked with ox and sled
and cut the dark with lantern light,
there lived a boy who loved snow
more than anything else in the world."


To find out more about Mr. Bentley, see the January issue of Smithsonian Magazine. The article "Freeze Frame" is about his life and work. I think his curiosity and determination are amazing.

"Bentley seemed willing to pursue his arduous work - over the years he made pictures of thousands of snow crystals - not with any hope for financial gain but simply for the joy of discovery. Nicknamed Snowflake by his neighbors, he claimed his pictures were "evidence of God's wonderful plan" and considered the endlessly varied crystals "miracles of beauty."

No comments:

Four Years Later

COVID:2 Collage  Four years ago today we all came home for the lock down. Middle school classes conducted by zoom on the deck, college cours...