A Rewarding Outing

It was a magical landscape on the Greenway Trail the morning of January 11, after the previous day’s rainy-icy weather enclosed branches, leaves, and seedheads in a thick casing of glittering ice. You could almost hear each individual blade of grass crunch underfoot, and a slight breeze set off a gentle tinkling sound high overhead. Otherwise, silence.

Every step, every glance revealed a new Greenway, far different from the plain, dry brownness that has prevailed since the fall. Tiny seedheads magnified like specimens enclosed in glass, inviting inspection with new eyes.

Common Queen Anne’s Lace transformed into artistic sculptures, art both modern and ancient. Delicate panicles of switchgrass transformed into heavy, shining pearls strung on airy stems.

These occasional days of excessive beauty are a pleasant reward for some of the anxieties of winter weather.

Originally published in Sycamore Greenway Friends.