Don’t last long into bleak cold January.
The smell hits different emerging form the dark. The scent of a pine forest.
Walking in the shadow of the tall pines, the brisk wind hitting your face, the cold is bitter, the snow crunching beneath your feet carries a drudging melody. there is still a beauty to it all, green and white. Beautiful but not as vibrant in the shadows.
Into a clearing, overhead the sun is shining, everything is illuminated in the mid-day sun. Cold is no longer harsh. The breeze carries an aroma from the surrounding pines. the sound of boots in the fresh snow is harmonious.
Curiously, across the clearing a tree is decorated. there is a sign mentioning how ones loved one loved this place and this is done in their memory. With a promise to remove it in January.
At this point how can one not smile. Everything about this environment is vibrant.
Left, right or straight, all paths lead back to the dark cold.