Colors of Winter

We have to search for color in the winter landscape.

At first glance it appears monochromatic.

But there's pale color in the sunrise....

Soft peachy hues on the snowy trees....

and muted gold as the sun lights the treetops.

I find a little color up by the barn - dual wheels for the big Ford tractor...used for spring field work.

A broken, crooked window in the machinery shed.

Hay bales on a wagon.

Snowy conifers by the compost piles.

Not much color in the woodpile, but there's a glimpse of red on the tractor as hubby plows snow.

(Click photos for a larger view)

Oh, there are some rich, earthy shades in the birch bark!

Wheelbarrows waiting to be put away in the shed.

Snowy green tractor and buildings.

The neighbor's red barn, now used to house horses.

Our old barn by the shale bed.

Jasmine is a bright spot against the white expanse, as she ventures out into the snowy morning.

Molly thinks she might like to go too.....

...but changes her mind quickly and heads back for the door when she feels that icy snow on her paws.

Within a very short time Jasmine is at the front sliding glass door, scratching at the screen (which needs to be replaced because of her bad habit). "Let me back in please, Mom. It's cold out here!"

Sheba goes with hubby to the mailbox. She's a barn cat and doesn't seem to mind being out in all kinds of weather.

Hubby plows some more snow.....

It keeps him busy.

The birds arrive early to fuel up against the cold. There's a male hairy woodpecker on the suet, goldfinches and sparrows on the tray.

The goldfinches are wearing their olive-gold winter colors.

But the blue jays are always bright in color and brash in nature, brazenly scattering the small birds from the tray to eat their fill of seeds and corn. They don't stay long though, so there's always plenty to go around.

The chickadees and goldfinches love my (their) Christmas present. The cage feeder keeps the big birds out.

The little male downy woody loves that suet!

We've had a female red-bellied woody showing up quite regularly too. I wonder if she's the same one that came last year.

The little gray and white juncos are some of the earliest at the feeders in the mornings. They come just as the darkness begins to lift.

Oh, here's another early bird....Mrs. Cardinal!

And...a brilliant spot of red.....Mr. Cardinal, who has begun to grace us with his presence more often lately, if briefly. I've yet to see him on a feeder. I don't know if it's the same pair we had during the summer, but back then he was the bold one and she was the shy one.

At the end of the day, as the sun sets behind the hills, the winter sky delights us with a glorious show.

The colors of winter are there for us to find.....we just need to look a little harder.