Day 1

This is the eve of Day 2 of Icemaggedon.  I had stubbornly holed myself up for 2 days while a (cliche) winter wonderland was right outside my warm door.  Having just signed my creativity contract, I ventured out, looking for beauty.  (Disclaimer: These pictures are all taken with my phone, so the time of day/flash ratio was difficult.)  Here I was actually standing under a big, frozen tree.  It sounded like an old wooden boat, stubbornly departing from the dock.  The tree was literally groaning.  I felt it's pain, but it also made me smile.  Everything else was silent, all around, which I decided is what is possibly the most beautiful part of these frozen days. Silence.  Stillness.   The tree's limbs were weighted down all around me, with its new winter coat uncomfortably constricting its movement.  I couldn't quite capture its beauty, so I turned and caught this last bit of light to document the place where I was standing.

So, this picture isn't an image of importance, it is a moment.  A softening to the still and silent beauty of winter.