Passing Through Winter

Winter, often gray if not blue figuratively, is in it’s prime.  While taking a walk through the park just after the new year, I saw this tree.  It has undoubtedly withstood many winters; some mild, some threatening.   Rarely do we have a sustainably threatening winter here in the deep south.  That said, we have our fair share of ice storms and winter-bookended tornados that threaten even the most deeply-rooted hardwoods.

Seeing and thinking about this tree triggered a couple of reminders:  1) Winter can be cold, gloomy, and “heavy-hearted”, but like every season or phase of life it is only temporary; and, 2) this winter has been mostly mild, with spring already in the foreseeable future.  For these reasons, I chose to interpret this scene with a warm texture and tone.  Trees are mostly winter-barren now.  Leaves are gone with the exception of evergreens and the occasional dead leaf refusing to give in to dropping.  But, the imminence of spring and a hopeful new year bears feelings of warmth and optimism.

“No winter lasts forever; no spring skips its turn.” ~ Hal Borland

“Let us love winter, for it is the spring of genius.” ~Pietro Aretino

“O, wind, if winter comes, can spring be far behind?” ~ Percy Bysshe Shelley

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