Like last year, we got an early dose of Winter, with a couple of storms, including more than a foot of snow in the first week of December. That makes it a full year of untoward weather, from last year’s long and heavy Winter through a wet Summer and a blustery Autumn that saw most of the leaves on the ground as fast as they could change color.
Evergreens remain, but bearing a white blanket. Anything that doesn't move gets covered over...
...and waters that were once in motion now stand frozen.
Some stalks remain, an image of last year’s growth, suspended in the seeming death of plant-kind, but roots await another season...
...while footprints in the snow attest that birds, at least, are still alive and moving. But where have they gone..?