My state of mind in winter follows a similar pattern every year. First relief. Snow covers the ground, nothing is growing, and I don’t have to cut and cart away any more dead plants. Then an extravagance of energy with no place to spend it. Sit down and read? In the afternoon? Then, sometime in January, I relax into the winter schedule—sleep a little later, dive into a class, get physically lazy. But a walk at the Glasbern last week reminded me that it’s all still out there, and as beautiful as ever.
Helleborus foeditus is already in bud.
Ilex verticillata -- soon the birds will find it.
Mugo pine
Opuntia humifusa, conserving water.
Corylus contorta. Tortured. Fascinating.
Moss and lichens
And the blue tree steals the scene.
