Beauty in the Mundane

Yesterday was a beautiful day. And, I needed to get outside and breathe some fresh air. I grabbed my camera, and went wandering around the yard. Winter is dull and gray, but you notice things that, in the other seasons, are overwhelmed by the more flashy stuff. I noticed how beautiful and different the bark of the trees in the yard were.

Norway Maple (replaced an old apple tree, that I had a swing on when I was a kid)



Locust (replaced a pear tree)



Lilac (this bush was planted by my Grandmother, when they first moved to the house, in the 1920's)



Pine (one of two seedlings that my Dad dug out of the woods when I was young)



Box Elder (I carved my initials in this tree when I was about 12. The initials are long grown over, but the tree remains)



I have known these trees almost my whole life. But, I rarely stop and really LOOK at them. I'm glad I did yesterday, because I found new facets of old friends. I like this blogging stuff. It makes me slow down and see what is around me. And, now that I have time to stop and look, I'm discovering all sorts of beauty, in everyday things.