Tradition says that the Christmas tree and decorations are cleared away on New Year's Day. I try to put it off as long as I can, which in our house means the next weekend. Thus yesterday was the day. Actually I usually have a kind of itchy, nagging feeling by this point that the cookie crumbs, dust, and other detritus of three weeks accumulation under bric-a-brac everywhere is reaching unacceptable levels, but I just hate losing the cheerfulness of the garland and tree glowing throughout the house.
Not to mention that it's a big job packing it all away and then cleaning up the aforementioned detritus.
So it was with a reluctant, heavy heart that the deed was done, with lots of help from my husband.
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| Looking at the rain from the bare corner where the Christmas tree stood earlier. |
To confirm the dreariness of this time of year, we woke to a gloomy, gray drizzle. It ended in mid-morning, perfect timing for Toby's walk. I realized - hey, Black and White Sunday, and what do I see outside?
GRAY! So I tucked the camera in my pocket, thinking to take a lot of gloomy GRAY pictures for the blog and thus share my own personal black cloud with you :/
Don't worry! By the end I actually was feeling much more cheerful, and I hope my little photoessay will explain why. If you also get blue in January I hope you, too, feel better at the end!
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| Starting our walk at the corner of our yard with the leafless quince bushes, forsythia, tulip magnolia, and maples... |
After taking this picture, I thought - 1)hmm, might be fun to see how much actual gray I can find that's interesting and doesn't need much grayscale, and 2) whoa, interesting how the branches stand out.
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Some unusual deer browsing in suburbia :)
These deer fit my scheme so beautifully, I had to smile. Now I was really absorbed in my hunt for good black+white subjects. |
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| This says it all. Haha! Could have saved myself the first hundred words! |
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| Surprise! The color was just as startling in real life on an overcast day. The message? "Winter won't last forever!" |
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| Green grass peeking through the dead leaves promises spring will be here soon. |
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| I was attracted to the interesting textures and shapes of the fence, the toothy leaves, corrugated bark, and furry Toby. |
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| A closeup view. |
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| The lacy outlines of the bare trees against the gray sky caught my eye next. |
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| Serendipity when a flock of blackbirds joined the show! |
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| The gray bench had me imagining how it would look in a couple of months... |
Are you smiling yet? I was and thoroughly enjoyed the rest of Toby's walk as I anticipated the fun of playing with my GRAY Sunday pictures. And magically the day didn't seem gloomy at all anymore. Happy Black and White Sunday!
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| Some color back at home too :) |
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7 comments :
Woof! Woof! Love the GRAY (BnW Sunday) photos. LOVE the snowman decor photos. Lots of Golden Woofs, Sugar
I leave all of my cards up til the end of January :)
Love your photos!
Ok...going on FOUR tries on Captcha......please get rid of it :)
Love all of these pictures!!!
Winter has it's own stark beauty I think - your pictures prove that!
Thanks, the rain gave me an excuse to leave them up!
Thanks and sorry about the Captcha, I think Blogger is to blame for that :(
Yes I'm not really very fond of winter but it can be beautiful, especially when it snows!
Amazing how a walk with a four-legged companion, and really opening our eyes and being in the moment can make such a difference. Glad the walk cheered you up, and really enjoyed sharing it with you through your wonderful photos.
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