Winter is a time when the world can seem lonely, and sometimes a bit stark and harsh. It can also be very beautiful, in ways impossible to imagine at another time of year. The snow we got a week ago is still on the ground. The blanket of snow simplifies the landscape, making a light backdrop that contrasts with shapes and shadows in subtle and ever-changing ways.
Most of the deciduous trees lost all their leaves months ago, but there's one type of oak (at least), that always has some leaves that hang on for the winter.
A few days ago, I came home and saw a solitary oak leaf, standing up in the snow on the front yard. It must have fallen from the tree across the street, and happened to land, stem down, in the snow. It is a beautiful image - one brown oak leaf, standing alone in the snowy expanse. Surprisingly, it has stayed there for several days.
The simplest of things, but making a very dramatic visual statement. A natural work of art that will last for a short while - until a stronger wind blows through, or warm air arrives to melt the snow. Then there will just be an oak leaf lying in the yard, waiting to be raked up or perhaps absorbed into the soil.
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