Black and White

On a recent guided hike in the Berkshires in February, our leader gathered us in a circle to share our impressions of the landscape around us. Many noticed the animal prints and the crunch of our footsteps, and the quietness of it all. For me, I could stay parked for hours on the little bridge traversing the dark brook with the marshmallow coated stones, I love the black with the white. I am drawn by opposites, contrasts. And so it is with the view out my window this morning…charcoal colored bark and branches dusted with white snow, a haven for a pen and ink artist. Soon the subtle pastels of yellow and lavendar and pink will enter in when the crocuses awake, but for a few hours this morning, the extremes will usher in the day until the sun rises to warm the surfaces and melt it away.