Trees in winter have special beauty

During my daily walks at this time of year around my Decatur neighborhood, I often find myself lingering to admire the intricate, bare limb patterns of soaring oaks, maples, tulip poplars, hickories and other deciduous hardwoods.

Deciduous trees, of course, are those that shed their leaves in winter and become dormant for the season. Spread against a golden winter sky, the leafless limbs are, in my mind, like exquisite works of art organic sculptures.

In her 1919 poem, “Winter Branches,” poet Margaret Widdemer must have felt the same way. “The stripped tree boughs comfort me, drawn clear against the sky,” she wrote.

I also am thankful for the constant beauty of trees throughout the year. In spring and summer, I appreciate trees for their lush greenery, flowers and the many birds, animals and other creatures that they shelter and feed. In fall, I adore the trees’ magnificent, breathtaking leaf colors. But it is in winter that I find special beauty in trees.

Winter is the time to become more familiar with a tree, when it stands before you in its stark essence, like a skeleton on display. You can notice more closely its distinctive shape, the beautiful color and texture of its bark, the muscular nature of its trunk and the lattice shapes of its branches.

I love photographing trees at this time of year, when the light is more subtle and golden. I can capture details that are otherwise hidden by thick foliage during the rest of the year.

In particular, I like to gaze at the classic limb patterns of older oaks and maples with their long, graceful lines in winter. Also standing out in winter are the mottled, camouflage bark patterns of American sycamores and the peeling, curving bark of river birches. And I love the strikingly smooth, silvery gray trunks of American beeches.

More beauty is on the way: With the days growing longer, the now-dormant trees soon will be stirring with new life, pointing the way to spring.

IN THE SKY:

From David Dundee, Tellus Science Museum astronomer: The moon will be full on Thursday — the “Snow Moon” as the Cherokee people called January’s full moon. It’s also known as the Wolf Moon. Mercury is low in the west just after dark. Venus is very low in the east and rises just before dawn. Mars is high in the southwest at dusk.

CHARLES SEABROOK FOR THE ATLANTA JOURNALCONSTITUTION The limb patterns of deciduous hardwood trees in winter can be like natural sculptures in which many people find great beauty.