Bare branches

One of the many things I love about winter is the look of bare branches against the sky.

In some ways, the starkness emphasises the cold.  They are often grey and you look through them to the frosty sky.  Birds sitting in them look exposed, and the wind whistles through rather than rustles as it does in summer.

I love being able to see the structure of the tree, how different they all look without their leaves.  I especially love it when you can suddenly see a bird's nest exposed that come spring will disappear once again into the foliage and be filled with babies.

The lack of leaves changes the view too.  Longer vistas open up.  New perspectives on old scenes.

Experiencing things like this is one of the joys of living in a place which really does experience all four seasons.