It's a Winter Wonderland Out There!

Zone 5 gets its share of cold and snow.  Soon, Zone 5 should have its January thaw.  This is when the weather warms up enough to melt the snow.  Almost everyone gets excited to see the snow retreat by this time of winter....if only for a few days.  In the meantime, I was up early on Sunday and was rewarded with a spectacular sunrise and a landscape completely frosted over.  Winter does have its pluses.  Enjoy.

The old apple tree silhouette against the rising sun.

Sunrise casts long shadows across the untrodden landscape.

Spent Coneflowers stand firm against the frosty onslaught.

The sun rises over the distant Mugo Pines.

The frosty canopies of the Maple Trees

glow pink in the early morning sun.

Frost and a dollop of snow lend a sense of whimsy to this Maple.

The sun beams raise upward in a joyous Hallelujah.

The weak sunlight casts a white and yellow glow

across the neighbor's backyard.

Frost covers every needle on this White Pine.

These Coneflowes have a toppings of snow

making them resemble cotton ripening in a field.

The volunteer Oak sapling's frosty leaves still cling

tightly to its little branches.

The morning sun lights up the recent snowfall

reflecting back like a million tiny mirrors.