A light in the woods.
I was hoping for a fantastic sunset as I drove home from errands, but no luck tonight. With a light dusting of snow, a gentle snowfall began again as dusk began to fall, and the clouds remained resolutely solid gray.
Still, I got some nice photos as I drove through Settler’s Cabin Park where I’d photographed the series “I Chased a Sunset” as well as a number of the photos in one of my sets of holiday cards, “Winter Walks“, and reminiscent of photos in the set “Unexpected Berries“. A light in the woods, snow-covered trees, and bright red honeysuckle berries in the snow, I guess the same things appeal to me and I can interpret them endlessly.
Perhaps someday I’ll work up another set of cards from one or more of these photos. Here are the photos from today, and below the gallery are the two sets of cards I mentioned above.
Unexpected Berries
Little Apples
Has someone decorated the bare trees for the holidays? Yes, Mother Nature! I took this photo on a similarly gray day and those colorful little apples looked as if they glowed and the bare branches had a wonderful silvery cast.
Walking in the quiet of a winter day I see some of the most beautiful scenes, from my own back yard, to my neighborhood, town, trails and woods. I found these colorful little crabapples growing along the railroad tracks through the middle of town.
My joy is to bring not just the scene but the entire milieu back to my studio in an image—a tall order for a photograph or painting, but now and then I manage to capture the essence.
“Unexpected Berries” is a careful study of surprising details others may not notice, the splash of color in the muted landscape of winter that holds my gaze for as long as my tired eyes will enjoy its gift as “nature provides a respite for the weary eye. I put them together as a set when, while filling bird feeders in my back yard after a heavy snowfall, I encountered the bright red berries on my burning bush like sparkling lights amid all the white.
ABOUT THE ARTWORK
This set of four designs based on photography are more “seasonal” than “holiday”, and evoke the concepts I pursue with my nature photography.
Unexpected Berries
From my own backyard is “Unexpected Berries”, found on Christmas morning after a heavy snow, the bright red hulls clinging to my burning bush while the seeds withing long gone to my avian visitors.
Little Apples
“Little Apples”, small wild apples hang like brightly-colored ornaments on wild trees whipped bare from winter winds, decorating the gray branches on an overcast day.
Icy Berries
“Icy Berries” decorating one of the trees on Main Street in Carnegie, iced over by a winter storm, their brilliant, rich color preserved.
Crabapples
And one of my long-time favorites, “Crabapples” decorate bare branches in a cluster of trees growing by railroad tracks; who would think to look here for such beauty?
PURCHASE CARDS
- Cards are also available individually for custom quantities or sets. Use the drop-down to choose.
- Cards also have a choice of envelope color: red or white. If no choice is made I will ship white.
- Inside, all cards say, “Wishing you color on the coldest day of winter, and an astonishingly beautiful new year.”
- Cards assort with all other 5″ x 7″ greeting cards (except custom printed cards) for a quantity discount—you can choose a completely custom dozen from among all the 5 x 7 cards on this site.
Winter Walks
Homeward Bound
Of all the inspiring scenes I’ve found on my “Winter Walks”, these are the ones that stayed with me afterward as I remembered one of my favorite quotes from Henry David Thoreau: “Take long walks in stormy weather or through deep snows in the fields and woods, if you would keep your spirits up. ~Henry David Thoreau, naturalist and author”.
- Cards are also available individually for custom quantities or sets.
- Inside, all cards say, “May your spirits be lifted by the beauty of nature this holiday season and in the new year.”
- Cards assort with all other 5″ x 7″ greeting cards (except custom printed cards) for a quantity discount.
- Price includes shipping via Priority Mail.
ABOUT THE ARTWORK
This set of four designs based on photography are more “seasonal” than “holiday”, and evoke the concepts I pursue with my nature photography.
Homeward Bound
“Homeward Bound”, found after a major ice storm in Settler’s Cabin Park in Collier Township, PA.
Arching Branches
“Arching Branches”, a scene along Chartiers Creek near Bridgeville, PA.
Snowy Abstract
Walking through the local woods after a snow I found a wonderful “Snowy Abstract”.
Encased in Ice
Visiting the Panhandle Trail near Rennerdale, PA I found these delicate branches “Encased in Ice”.
Find more like this
See other Seasonal and Holiday Cards featuring nature and wildlife, and Feline Seasonal and Holiday Greeting Cards.
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