Living in middle Georgia, winter is a variable affair.
One day it’s 65 degrees, another day it’s 40 and drizzling. We don’t get the
Winter Wonderland of snow that friends further north enjoy, but I have a deep
appreciation for the beauty that a middle Georgia winter offers me.
I enjoy the bare trees. To see the intricate lace of
limbs against a gray sky always generates a sense of wonder in me. I have my
favorite trees around town but I enjoy them all. Their bareness also yields the
surprises of bird nests that were hidden by summer leaves. I walk by the nests
and think about how I passed them in the summer without any awareness of the
life that was so close by.
I like the days we have cold drizzle. Those are some of
my favorite days to walk outside. Ever since I went to Ireland several years
ago, I’ve grown to appreciate rainy days. An Irish man gave me a pearl of
wisdom I remember every rainy day: There’s no such thing as bad weather, just
bad clothing! So I don my raincoat and waterproof boots and enjoy a walk in the
drizzle.
I enjoy the winter plants, the stalks and sometimes seed
pods that remain when all the green is gone. The shapes and patterns they make,
and the ways they light up when the sunshine hits them, is as much a treat for
the eyes as flowers in springtime.
If beauty is in the eye of the beholder, I am grateful
for the beauty I see in a winter landscape. I do believe that to see beauty in
the browns and grays of winter is a choice, an intention that can make the
difference between having a gloomy day or a delightful day. May you be gifted
with eyes to see the beauty around you in wintertime.
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