December 3, 2013 Photo of the day: "Paper Birches"

Birches in Peninsula State Park, Door County, WI - October 2013

I love birch trees.

Their paper white trunks standing tall and straight

in start contrast against a forest of colorful foliage.

Birches remind me of home.

When I travel, I notice the absence of birch trees.

Robert Frost was a big fan too: Birches.

Birch trees have a relatively short lifespan,

but even fallen birches are beautiful and useful.

I have often been tempted to write

on the layers of paper bark

adding to their beauty

with the words in my heart.

But on this cold, damp evening,

the comfort of a crackling birch fire

warms my heart and my feet.

"Fire is the main comfort...

as well for cheerfulness

as for warmth and dryness."

~ Henry David Thoreau