Tuesday, February 6, 2018

Winter Woods

I hate to admit it, but I have not been enjoying this winter the way I used to.  Various ailments are exacerbated by the cold, so I haven't been out climbing mountains or snowshoeing through the woods the way I had in previous years. I confess my couch has been calling to me more than has the great outdoors.  But yesterday, a bright blue sky, moderate temps, and fresh sparkly snow did tempt me out for a walk through the nearby Skidmore woods.  I didn't even need snowshoes to kick through the few inches of fluffy stuff as I approached the frozen pond.  Aha!  Here was my chance to explore the pond's shore, which is way too mucky for exploring in warmer weather.




From a distance, there seemed to be nothing very colorful among the pondside shrubs, but a closer look revealed that the Winterberry bushes still retained their glossy fruits, although they were more a wine-red now than the brilliant scarlet they had displayed in autumn.





The chubby round buds of young Red Maples also added a rosy hue to the branches hanging over the pond's frozen waters.





There were Highbush Blueberry shrubs as well, with twigs as ruby-red as their small shiny buds.






The spindle-shaped buds of American Beech gleamed with a coppery glow when lit by the low winter sun.





A couple of dried birch fruits had been caught among the twigs of a pondside shrub, looking like smallish pinecones.




The birch fruits shattered at my touch, filling my hand with little winged seeds and miniature fleurs-de-lis.






As a lowering sun cast long shadows through the woods, the sunbeams turned the leaves of young American Beech trees to glowing amber.





The most colorful surprise of all on this mid-winter day were the vividly hot-pink twigs of Striped Maple, their spectacular color set off against a background of emerald-green White Pine saplings.


4 comments:

  1. When you do get out in the woods, your close looks reveal some beautiful and colourful things.

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  2. Hello Jackie, i enjoy your photography and your prose even more. When Tom and I are together our shared visit is often remembered. David H.

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  3. Ah, the beauty of small things. So many times we overlook the buds and twigs that add their color to the black, white and gray of the larger winter woods.

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  4. Thanks, Furry and Woody and David for your kind comments. I'm always glad to know you come along with me on my woods walks.

    Dave, I too often remember your visit, and I wish we lived close enough that we could make it an annual event. Hope you and Tom continue to enjoy your annual trips. Every time I walk that lakeshore where we found that dead Osprey, it reminds me of our adventures together. Did I ever tell you that a necropsy revealed that the Osprey was probably killed by a rival raptor, perhaps a Bald Eagle? What we thought might be rifle-bullet holes were punctures made by talons. These two large birds often vie for nesting sites and prey, sometimes engaging in mid-air battles.

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