The Garden in Winter

There is always Music amongst the trees in the Garden, but our hearts must be very quiet to hear it.  ~Minnie Aumonier

Here in southeastern Arizona, we are generally very fortunate in winter to have relatively warm temperatures and sunny skies while much of the rest of the country suffers with snow and ice.  Lately, however, it has been cold and gloomy often enough to make me dream of balmy breezes and tropical isles. The weather forecast keeps promising us a warming trend, but I have yet to feel it in actuality.  I have been wearing sweatshirts and sweaters and a double layer of socks indoors and only venturing outside when absolutely necessary.  My only solace has been the blooming paperwhite narcissus in my kitchen garden window.

Today I decided I had hibernated long enough and took a stroll through our back yard searching for some signs of life and beauty in the midst of winter.  I didn't find anything in bloom, but the mesquite is still green and the deciduous trees have a stark beauty as they lift their bare limbs to the sky. 

The garden is resting, but I detected the faint sound of music from  the trees as the wind blew through them giving me hope for an eventual concert in the spring.