Change Of Seasons.

This beautiful winter view is taken today in my backyard. It shows an old wooden sun chair, covered with apples and seeds to help the birds get through one of the coldest winters on record.

A winter that is ending.

Although that seems not be the case, judging by the snow covered ground in my photograph. The snow has an icy crust, compliments of the last freeze that has been holding us in its iron grip this past week, bringing cold, dry air and abundant sunshine, however putting an abrupt end to our first thaw. It turned water to ice causing some of my pots to break.

Still, spring is knocking on the door. This is most significantly visible in the sunlight; gone is the orange and golden hue. The rays shine brighter, turning our daylight platinum, as the shadows grow shorter.
The sun causes nature to awaken. Early flower stalks are pushing up through the hard, frozen ground and even through ice. The birch trees have visible buds and it will not be long before the pollen from their flowers fills the air once again, bringing back my progressive photography.

The nature is full of the old and the new. Old withered plants, such as my frozen rose, that is now decaying putrefied on its dry stalk. In such a contrast to the fresh yellow flowers of my Eranthis, finally in bloom, basking in the welcomed spring sunshine. I even spotted a lonely ladybug that was waking up after its winter sleep.

After my short walk, barely feeling my numb fingers, I still gladly retreated to my favourite cosy chair in front of my fireplace, recalling with amusement a rhyme in the Czech language. Each month of the year is described with one sentence, that signifies what the month is all about - the one for the month of March goes something like this; "March - lets crawl closer to the fire".

Even though I still crawl back to the fire, when I look out of my large window, I can sense with unmistakable certainty that the change of seasons is truly in the air.

(Please, click to enlarge.)