In the Gray Mist

I woke up this morning to a steady downpour. The rain has come and gone, and throughout the day the landscape's stark beauty was shrouded in gray mist.We tend to have dreary, damp winters, and in a month or so I will be tired of it and ready for spring's explosion of color. But now, there is something cozy about the gloom. The moist air settles around me as I drift slowly around the garden, and I have no complaints.

I am fascinated by the silhouettes of tree branches and seed pods. Can you guess what these are?

Hickory nuts

Crape myrtles

Pine

I examine the patchwork pattern of lichens growing on a Japanese maple trunk. Lichens are not harmful to trees; in fact, they are a sign of good air quality.

This leaf is clinging to a branch on the same tree:

A bicolor leaf seems to be caught between fall and winter:

The clouds are heavier now, and the mist is turning again to rain. I am moving toward the house when I hear a sweet song piercing the gloom. I walk around a shrub and catch this wren singing from the roof of a birdhouse:

Wishing you all a Happy New Year, and may there always be a song in the midst of a rainy day.    Deb

Autumn Passes Away

Winter's chilly hand is plucking at the landscape now, stripping branches here and there, but it has not yet taken a firm and deathly grip. Autumn's brilliant colors have faded, replaced by swaths of antique brass, rust, burnt rose, honey and amber.

Sun does not ignite these colors but rather creates a warm glow, a testament to the season as it peacefully passes away.

Leaves are constantly fluttering to the earth in little groups, heaping up over the ground and leaving garlands draped across shrubs, outdoor furniture and garden ornaments.

I walk amongst them, kicking at crinkly piles in the woodland. We keep the lawn and the paths cleared, but otherwise the leaves lie where they fall. They will provide insulation to the plants through the winter, and then by spring most of them will have decayed, returning to earth to replenish and nourish the soil.

I am not sorrowful about winter. It is a season for rest and renewal. I feel its cold breath and I pull my sweater tighter, but we are fortunate. Our winter delivers enough days to complain about, but it is comparatively short and mild. I can continue to garden through the season, but our pansies, decorative cabbage and winter vegetables, such as collards and spinach, will probably come through the winter with little effort on my part.

Today is a beautiful, mild day. I take in deep breaths, enjoying the crisp air and the fragrance of earth, and I am grateful for all the wonders around me. 

Above two photos are Euonymus alatus, also called Burning Bush. This is an invasive shrub in some parts of the country but fortunately not for me.

May you all have a great week!