Colors of winter

I was reading someone's blog where it was suggested to take some pictures of the colors of the season or month for weaving inspiration.  It was a beautiful day out today, a little above freezing, so Bob and I took a walk with our cameras.  Here is a link to the challenge site:  Life Looms Large

As my photos show, we still have a lot of white up here!  It looks so pretty with the spruce trees and was so sparkling this morning when it was still pretty cold.

Two of our old sugar maples are "dying" to be tapped.  If they had, the sap would have been pouring out of them today.  The day was perfect for sap running, with above freezing temperature and a beautiful sunny day.

All of the old maples are dying.  This one especially needs to be taken down.  It is right next to our drive and the road and it already lost one huge limb in a storm a couple years ago.  We used to put two or three taps in this tree when it was healthier.

I love the different colors of brown and gray of these old trees.  This old sugar maple is so big we usually put four taps on it. It's about four feet in diameter.   I wanted to tap this year, but Bob doesn't think we will have enough time to boil maple syrup.  I'd like to at least do a couple gallons.  We are all out, and I miss having it in the pantry to use.

A little bit of Susan Lake can be seen to the right of the tree trunk.  The lake is still completely frozen.  

Snow doesn't really appear white unless the sun is on it.  This is close to sunset, and with the deer tracks and tree shadows, the colors are various shades of gray and blue-gray.  The snow is still pretty deep as you can see by the drag marks from the deer hoofs.

 

The birch trees are very beautiful, especially with a backdrop of cedar or a sunset.

 

Our old pear tree looks like it has been tapped hundreds of times--by woodpeckers! Interesting grays and browns and a touch of Norway Spruce green in the background.  

A close-up of a dried mullein plant with a backdrop of snow.  Still quite a lot of white and brown and gray and lots of texture.  As beautiful as all of this is, I'm looking forward to the addition of some spring green and daffodil yellow to the outdoor pallet.