Embracing winter...

January wraps this place in blankets of monotone silence. Unless you look closely, the world is shades of white and gray. To better explore my surroundings I acquired snow shoes. Yesterday we tried them for the very first time. Skimming across the new snowfall was easy. We crossed the swells of meadow, into the treeline and down to where the brook etched an abbreviated dark line under the snow. The sky provided a pale backdrop for barren tree branches... delicate as winter lace. Rather than enjoy the view from the window by the fire, we breathed in air so cold it burned, and caught some ember colors by surprise.