Soul Made of Wood, Rocks, and Water

Late winter is a special season at Herrontown Woods. Even under gray skies, even in a cold, slow rain, or especially then, the woods has a radiance. Though buds have yet to open, the woods is alive with the sound of clear water cascading down boulder-strewn slopes. Winter's light still pours in through the leafless canopy, illuminating nature's artistry. Each boulder has its own distinct pattern of mosses and lichens, and each pool contains a world of reflection.

Froth is not always a sign of detergent, but can be a natural stirring up of organics.

Take a closer look, and find that each bubble contains its own reflection of the canopy above, and even catches the photographer catching the photo.

A late-winter woods clings as if with affection to a few mementos from the fall before.

There's beauty in a beech tree's reluctance to let go.

Wood, rocks, and water come together in such serendipitous ways on this cold, gray day. For anyone who has worked to open up the channels of creative self-expression, the abundance of groundwater seeping from the slopes and merging into a cascading stream registers as full-bore creativity, a soulful song of Herrontown Woods.