Glimmers of Hope in the Long Dark Winter

America’s long dark winter is upon us. The virus is mutating, winter winds are howling, and our future is truly unknown. It was a long year getting here and the end is not yet in sight. As always I look to nature for signs. Recently, there has been a lot of fog and some snow, which has mirrored my mood of trepidation. Yet frequently nature shows me how she endures and offers signs of hope. Below are some photos all from my mountain ridge, as I stay closer and closer to home, along with some haikus. May we hang on until the spring or summer, when things improve.

Blackbird Floating on the Mist

A blackbird hovering

Amidst white mist and dark firs

Is it lost or found?

Two Trees in the Fog

Two tall naked trees

Reaching and swaying as one

How I envy their bond

Fallen Branches in the Snow

Snapped branches akimbo

Snow blurring separations

We fall together

Light Trying to Break Through

Light fights to break through

Leafless trees shiver in the wind

To touch and be touched

Layers of Twigs

A forest’s missive

Written by twigs in winter

Believe seasons change

Woodland Interconnections

Interstices beckon

Branches, twigs, and spiral vines

Arch towards the light

Lost Souls Harbor Here

Vines cling to bare trees

Ethereal light flickers

Lost souls harbor here

Trees and Vines in the Mist

Holding each other

Trees and vines huddle in mist

We ache as we wait

Phantasmagoric Forms Emerging in Winter Light

In winter’s shadows

Spirits whisper and cavort

Invisible to most

Currents

Electric chaos

Branches embody string theory

Light shocks us to life

Forest Geometry

A cool mist descends

Triangulated energy

Layers of life and death

Walking into the Unknown

Grey light and bare trees

An empty road through the mist

Dissolves who I am