I am so over winter. I am so done hoping we might get some actual snow (a rarity here in the mild maritime Pacific Northwest), and so ready to move on to spring. And although it’s still cold, wet, and rainy outside, I can create a little bit of sunny springtime renewal on my Windows desktop with the newest crop of themes.
One harbinger of spring is the sight of bees visiting the crocuses, apple blossoms, and daffodils that begin to bloom around this time of year. Our first theme, a collection of stunning macro images by photographer Mayur Kotlikar, opens a window into the busy and beautifully colorful world of these essential pollinators.
Brilliant flowers and busy insects are also the subject of the new theme Garden Glimpses, which showcases the work of young photographer Rangan Das. I’m impressed by the painterly richness of his images.
Our next theme features another participant in the Open Call, photographer Ondřej Vlček, whose camera is also focused on the small details of the natural world that might otherwise pass unnoticed: berries gleaming like jewels in the afternoon sun, dried seedpods, ice crystals floating on an almost invisible spider’s web.
If reading my blog post is making you a little sleepy, I have just the thing for you. Charming animal illustrations from A Book of Sleep by artist/writer Il Sung Na bring a dozy sense of contentment to your desktop that may soon have you nodding gently over your keyboard.
Naptime is over! Wake up with the playful joy and energy of dolphins leaping, swimming, and making that clicky, chirping sound. (Well, okay, you’ll have to use your imagination for that part, although the theme does include the sounds of ocean waves, splashes, and seagulls.)
The final collection in today’s roundup transports you from the boundless ocean to arid panoramas of sand and rock for as far as the eye can see. This dramatic new theme for Windows 8 and Windows RT showcases austerely beautiful desert scenes from around the world, and is designed to extend smoothly across dual monitors.
If you have an older version of Windows that can’t use themes, or if you prefer to use a single desktop background, be sure to check out the fresh wallpapers. Here are just a few:
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The vivid colors and changing scenes in our new crop of themes help take my mind away from the gray sameness of the rainy weather outside, and I hope you’ll enjoy them, too. Keep checking back on the Personalization Gallery, as we will continue to add new themes and wallpapers to help evoke any climate or season you like on your Windows desktop.