Simplicity

He who marvels at the beauty of the world in summer will find equal cause for wonder and admiration in winter…. In winter the stars seem to have rekindled their fires, the moon achieves a fuller triumph, and the heavens wear a look of a more exalted simplicity.
John Burroughs, “The Snow-Walkers,” 1866

True beauty is found in simplicity.
Who said that?
Nothing fancy.
Nothing glamourous.
No sparkles.
No glitz.
No shiny baubles.
No makeup.
No expensive clothes.
Simple and delightfully minimal.
A bird.
Some twigs.
A grey sky.
All accented by a backdrop of the evergreen needles of the loblolly pine.
Simple.
Peaceful.
Beautiful.
A soft bundle of puffed up feathers working as an insulating coat for a young mocking bird set amongst the barren twigs and sticks of an empty crepe myrtle and the thorns of the barberry.
No red carpet.
No camera lights.
No who’s who.
Nothing manmade.
A small gift from the hand of the Beloved.
Simply real.
Simply beautiful.

(images of a young, cold, mocking bird nestled along the twigs of a crepe myrtle of Julie’s yard / 2014)