A Barren Beauty

When my husband was alive, he did the morning dog walks. Since he passed, that's become my task, the early morning walk before I leave for work. 

For most of the winter, that walk has been pretty much in the dark, as has the evening walk when I get home. 

But there has been an unexpected beauty in these walks. I've come to really appreciate the stark beauty of the trees in winter.

Those early morning walks had me noticing the play of the branches against the sky at other times during the day as well. I'm particularly partial to the dark before dawn or the twilight ones, but the bare branches against a bright blue sky with puffy clouds are lovely too. 

Since today is the first day of spring, and soon (fingers crossed) everything will be budding with new life and color, I thought it might be fun to share some of the photos I snapped on those cold morning and evening walks.

That's the top of the Verrazano Bridge you can see in the background.

You'd really have to zoom in on this to see it in the photo, but I thought the sticky balls look like nature's Christmas balls hanging from the branches.

You can tell I've gotten a little carried away. Who knows, maybe this was just my time to note the beauty in the barren season, but I've come to truly love studying the differences in the patterns of branches in the trees. It's a reminder of how we sometimes miss the hidden beauty once the colors come out to dazzle us.

Do you stop to admire winter's bare beauty or are you a spring/fall only aficionado?