“Most misunderstandings in the world could be avoided if people would simply take the time to ask, “What else could this mean?” 
― Shannon L. Alder

I left the title as is, my first impression, but then, I looked deeper, at the bright orange beech leaves, the richness of the tree trunks, and the pale clean blue of the snow and realized, it’s not bleak at all.

Perception, is driven so much by experience and the stimuli present, at the moment. At the moment that I made the photo, I was standing in a winter forest, the temperature was hovering around -20C and delicate snow, like sparkling fairy dust, fell between the frozen limbs of the bare trees. So, now, as I consider this scene and reflect on my own words, that initial perception of bleakness, which many sojourners into the winter forest experience, is simply now true. if you look past first impressions, there is so much more.

In fact, as I consider that day and the 7 km hike a took, blazing trails though undisturbed snow, several parts of the forest were surprisingly alive with sound and motion. Within a hemlock grove, the air high above was filled with incredible birdsong, as hundreds of hungry chickadees flitted between limbs. The sound was indescribable and permeated the forest as I stood and soaked it in.

Ah, winter forests, not what they seem to be 🙂

Nikon D800
Tamron SP AF 90mm f/2.8 Di Macro 1:1 (272ENII)@90mmm
1/4 sec, f/32.0, ISO 400

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