storm-torn

I looked out this morning and there was a male cardinal at the bird feeder. And juncos flashing their wings in the underbrush. And there were song sparrows, pecking at the patches of grass where the snow is receding. And there was singing - oh I'd forgotten the sweet sound of songbirds trilling!

And there was our proud poplar, beautifully illuminated by the rising sun, with so many jagged branches, torn to points by the ice storm. Soon everything will be green again, and the broken branches and bent saplings will be swept up in the rush of new life, and we will all forget this winter... at least for a while I hope!