The Shape of Trees
Awhile back, when Jacob was still young enough to be home most of the day, I would frequently take him and my dog on walks in a park in Pittsburgh called the Arboretum. It was really just a small tract of land left to go wild in the middle of a neighborhood. I liked it because, as the name suggests, it was mostly wooded. Around that time, I found a little guide book which showed the shape of trees in the winter. It was a neat little book that I can't find right now (grrr...moving sometimes makes me cranky). It shows how every tree has a distinctive shape and character--the width and height, the openness of the branches, etc. Here is kind of a cool website that describes this further.

On a beautifully sunny day like today, I tend to notice the shape of trees against the blue sky or against the white backdrop of the snow. Some of the tree trunks are straight and narrow, others more gnarled and curvy. I like to look at the lines of the branches with birds flying overhead. It's one of my favorite things about winter.