Winter trees

This is the time of winter I look forward to here along the coast of South Carolina.  Winters  are generally very mild with the coldest weather occurring from late December to about the middle of January.  So the worst is behind us, though we could get some weather around freezing in February.  But today was the kind of day we live for, and we will have many weeks, at least through April, like this:  temperatures in the mid 50s to mid 60s, sunny blue skies, and light breezes, day after day in succession.  It’s perfect weather for walking. Today in  the park I felt like I could have walked for miles.  So invigorating, so perfect, and beautiful camellias lined the pathways.

Last week the last of the Autumn leaves departed their resting places on the branches of the park’s tall and majestic oak and pecan trees.  Now for the first time the trees are bare against the blue skies, and I have that distinct feeling of winter.  The only thing we lack is snow, and how magical the park would be with the limbs of trees and the ground covered by a soft layer of powdery white snow.  Ah, to dream of a winter wonderland!  Well we can’t have that, but the lofty bare tees are a good enough  reminder that we are passing through the short days of winter.

I’ve always been struck by the beauty of bare winter trees.  Forty years ago I recorded this in my journal:

An album of winter trees