Hi team: this is a photo I posted yesterday, one day too early for the challenge, which a kind soul informed me of :). I really want to participate, and I don't have another photo option, so I am reposting the picture, but with some different text and thoughts on the beauty of winter.

I grew up in Saskatchewan, and guys, the cold can be unreal.

I remember in January of 2014 that I spent almost the whole month (I was a distance grad student at the time so I was busy but home) inside and working my way through Downton Abbey because it was SO cold. Like.. wearing my winter jacket to bed some nights cold. Like.. it literally hit - 50 with what we call the wind chill. That kind of extreme cold isn't common, but it does happen. Certainly - 25 is likely and common.

(The Catholics out here make jokes about how we get less purgatory time because of how much cold torture we put up with.. haha)

"Baby, it's cold outside" takes on a whole new meaning here. It isn't chilly. It can be life-threateningly cold. That's why I am always amazed when I think of my family generations back building farms and homesteads out here and surviving before modern plumbing, heating, etc. It's hard enough as it is when it gets cold like that, but without our modern conveniences? I actually just can't understand it.

But since being back here (I lived in Europe for 3 years, and the west coast of Canada before that for 2 years), I have grown to love the beauty of winter in a way I never thought would be possible. It also helps that our winters have been milder the last two years as well.

The main word that comes to my head when I think of Lady Winter is elegance. She really is so elegant and unassuming and charming, even when she is aggressively cold. She invites you into a state of peace and reflection, and calls you into the warmth of home and relationship. I do love it for its own charming reasons.

This photo captures that magic in a striking way; the flush of summer still lingering in these strange, hardy berries, against the backdrop of colourless, pure white winter.

I am posting an Open Mic entry with a song about winter later today as well, so check back! It's perfect for this photo. I will link it in here later as well. You can also check out last week's entry in the meantime--another one of my own that got a great response last week!

Xx!
Kay

Follow @kayclarity if you enjoy posts about beauty, art, culture, life, Steemit, and, of course, my original music and poems.