In the bleak midwinter . . .

Over on Photography Matters, Bruce Robbins talks about the winter weather in Scotland, so I thought a midwinter report from Virginia would be in order. We had 22 inches of snow here the week before Christmas, and it has been cold, at least for around here (Virginia is, after all, a Southern state). By now, though the snow is mostly gone and we are left with bleak: bleak skies, bleak gray trees, bleak piles of dirty snow. I am not complaining though. Winter is usually a good time for me photographically. The leaves are off the trees revealing things that are mostly missed in the summer. The winter light can be interesting, and there are no snakes or poison ivy to spoil a walk in the woods.

And contemplating a bleak midwinter day from the window of a warm room with a cup of tea in hand is one of the pleasures of the season.