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