One Tree Hill

It was bitter cold out for my morning drive to work. The sky started doing some amazing things just as I was getting ready to leave the house.

First a show of pinkness that slid into purple, then some oranges appeared, dissolving into peach at the edges. The heavens at one point more resembled ocean than sky.

I thought to myself, "How can I go to work when this great and glorious show is going on?" But I clicked quickly (at 6 degrees F, or -14 C, if you dally, your fingers will freeze on the shutter) and captured a few fast shots.

This is one of my favorites of the set. There's just a bit of snow on the ground, making it look sufficiently wintry. The snow, quite obligingly, helps highlight the rows and texture of the farmer's field in the background.

The tree to the left is dark and gnarly, like a spirit rising up out of the ground, lifting its bony hands to the sky.

And the sky, that glorious sky, dwarfs it all, creating a scene that is at once barren and beautiful.