Winter

Winter is a special time of year for us. The trees have lost their leaves except for the patch of pines to the south. The sky is open and we can see the stars and the phases of the moon again. Winter seems colorless, the landscape is brown and seems lifeless, but color and life are everywhere. There are a number of plants that stay green all year and the hard woods like Oak and Poplar have a bark that is covered with moss and lichen.

		This the view to the east at sunrise. The ridges are now visible (here as shadows).
		When we first moved to West Virginia we were treated with heavy snows, often 12 to 18 inches deep. For the past 5 years or so it has been drier and some winters we have hardly any snow at all. This is a view of the road past our place heading south.
		Christmas Ferns stay green almost all winter but are not evergreen like Wintergreen and Rattlesnake Plantain.

Go to next page of Winter photos.