The morning awoke in a mild-mannered mood. We were sitting together in church, which we get to do most Sundays when it comes sermon time. Tom plays guitar during the service. I save him a spot near the aisle next to me so we can have some time at church together. Just before it was time for him to leave my side, I jotted a quick note about the arboretum. With a nodding of heads, a plan was quickly in motion to head there right after church.
Mid-morning was changing its mood by the time we left the church parking lot. See what happens when you pass notes to your beau during the sermon? Undaunted, we drove west to the Morton Arboretum.
After a quick purchase of coffee in the visitor center, we headed outdoors. With more than six inches of snow, it was a good day for snowshoers and cross-country skiers, who were out in good numbers as we wandered about on foot. It looked like fun, but, you will remember my story of cross-country skiing and Campbell’s tomato soup. In case you don’t, or didn’t read it, you can find it here. Enjoy the laugh.
A we walked, a stiff wind kicked up. We really weren’t appropriately dressed for a hike, but round the small lake we went, sipping our coffee and quickening our pace as we enjoyed the stark beauty of the winterscape.
As bleak and cold as midwinter can be here in the midwest, there is such ethereal beauty in it .
Winter is also the best time for seeing the structure of nature. The bones of a garden are laid bare and the strong lines of trees and shrubs are evident, as are the fractures and breaks among the bark and limbs. Winter is a time for nature’s rest and for man’s assessment and appreciation.
It is also a time when the evidence of good four season’s planning shines through. I found this true when we rounded a soft bend and this river birch came into view. So well placed were the grasses surrounding it that they gave the illusion of water. The colors of the peeling bark and the stems of the grasses were in agreement with each other – gave the feeling of another sermon on a Sunday morn.
It also brought to mind Robert Frost’s Birches. As I looked for the poem, I came across this website with a recording of the poem.
I have enjoyed entering your world once again Penny, and marvelling at the stark beauty of winter. Here I am struggling with tax and a computer breakdown just at the wrong moment. So birches in the snow have reminded me of this wondrous world. Thank you. I love the bit about passing notes to your beau in church!
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I am so pleased to hear it, Juliet, and that birches in snow reminded you of the wonder around us. Thank you.
Taxes and computer woes – not the best of times. I hope all is back to snuff soon.
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Ah, I wish I had your enthusiasm for winter!!
I did, however, catch my breath at the beauty of your photo, then quickly “borrowed” it to enjoy as my monitor’s wallpaper for a few days (the more “distant” shot). Then I checked the link to your Soup Tale and had a good laugh in the bargain! Thanks.
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Well, Karen, I would be less enthusiastic had this been one of many snows to fall. It really hasn’t been a bad winter – yet.
I’m so thrilled to hear you borrowed the picture for your “wallpaper” and enjoyed my cross-country soup adventure, which has become family a family legend.
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Lovely post. I enjoy reading about the gentle nature of your relationship with your beau. This sounds and looks like an interesting and peaceful walk.
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Thank you, Teresa. It was peaceful, if windy and cold. One thing I didn’t mention that this was the first time either of us spotted dear at the Morton in all the years we’ve been going.
Sounds like you’ve had some snow. I hope Buddy is enjoying it, and you as well. I’ve been unable to post comments, Teresa. The word verification keeps saying the characters don’t match, which is why you aren’t hearing from me. I did love the poem and, of course, the Homer.
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I don’t know about the sermon you heard while you were IN church, but the one after the service was beautiful.
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Amen, Sallie.
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What a beautiful day! I am so unacquainted with the bare winter landscape that I wondered what it was you could even DO at an arboretum this time of year, but you taught me something. I can see the beauty in the structures you describe and you are so right about the grass looking like water. You are very hearty! The poem was amazing (that’s a new site to explore for sure!) and I loved your Campbell’s soup hurdling story! You make the dead of winter much more fun than I would have imagined! Debra
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Isn’t it a great site, Debra? I’ve bookmarked it and signed up for their newsletter. I’m pretty sure that was Frost reciting Birches. There is a grove of white birches such as the ones in the poem (my photo is of a river birch, which is in the same family) at the arboretum. They are magnificent during all the seasons.
Some day I’ll tell the story of when we went to Steamboat Springs in Colorado with our girls. It was winter with much snow. Tom took me up a mountain on snowshoes. It almost ended our marriage. haha!
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Methinks you visited two churches!
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Amen, and Amen.
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Thank you for taking me on your walk round the lake, Penny, and I’m grateful tio have been introduced to the Robert Frost poem. Your gorgeous photos encapsulate the stark beauty of trees in winter. I love seeing trees change so wonderfully as the seasons roll round. As for your great post about skiing and soup, it made me laugh out loud. 🙂
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You’re welcome, Perpetua. It is one of my favorite poems of Frost’s. I believe it is him reciting it, though it would have been a recording from probably the late ’60s. Isn’t it a marvelous wonder to see trees through the seasons?
I’m glad you enjoyed my skiing adventure. I always seem to make a “splash”.
Thank you.
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Dear Penny,
Thank you for sharing with us today both the poem by Robert Frost and the sermon you saw and felt and heard and smelled and tasted on the nature work. A powerful sermon of beauty. Like you, I feel awe before the skeleton of trees in winter when they bear the weight of snow.
I’ve lived in New Hampshire and seen those birches that Frost wants to swing. Once in autumn, as I was driving up to Dartmouth, the yellow of their leaves was so vibrant that I stopped breathing. Realizing this, I parked the car on the side of the road and simply gazed my full.
Peace.
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You are welcome, Dee. I hope you enjoyed the poem. It is, indeed, awesome to see the burden trees bear in the snow and so very beautiful. We are so very lucky to live among many trees and to be so close to the Morton Arboretum. We’ve been to the Minnesota Landscape Arboretum in springtime and were so impressed with it, hoping to visit it in other seasons as well, over time.
We’ve been to Vermont in the Autumn, which I believe has more maples than birch, but, I understand that feeling of breathlessness at the beauty. We had to stop off the road many times. We’ve talked about going back and visiting New Hampshire. There is so much beauty in nature that calls.
Sorry, Dee, but I still can’t comment on your blog. I did go to the link, which brought me to tears. You are right. There are very grave consequences. Thank you for sharing so much, and in so doing, making me strive to be a better person.
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I do take heart in the way you view your winter world, Penny. You are right, it has a certain beauty. And the birches set the snow off so beautifully.
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Oh, my, thank you Kate. It has rained here now, for several days and most of the snow is melted. It is an odd sort of winter. That goodness for the birches.
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I agree with you about the beauty. I love the contrast of light and dark when there is snow in the woods. It is lovely. And you already know that I love Robert Frost.
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Indeed I do, Janet. I think it is actually Frost who is reciting Birches on the link. The contrast with the snow is just breathtaking at times, whether on a birch or and evergreen. Most of the snow is melted from all the rain now, but, I still like the look of trees in winter and the sense of all the hope that is starting to flow in the sap.
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