Today, we were walking in the hills and experienced the post-rain mists and smells.

There’s special beauty in the East Bay winter, a sparse and somewhat dormant period before full greenery bursts forth.  We noticed a few fall-like colors and, if you suspend reality, some winter-like whites.

This afternoon, we actually found trees with yellow, orange and red leaves!  While this was year-end, the colors screamed fall foliage – though you did have to search for these deciduous trees.

The winter-whites were everywhere, including reedy plants strutting their stuff.  By squinting hard, these feathery plants almost seemed like cast-offs from colossal birds which had migrated overhead.

White brush was plentiful in the hills, too.  When some winds picked up, this brush even looked like a snowstorm in progress.  (Remember, we’re suspending reality here.)

We also discovered a bereft, architectural plant and cast it as our “under-the-microscope” snowflake.  Hey, that’s the best we could do without the real stuff outside.

So today’s winter walk in the hills, around Leona Canyon, boiled down to the little stuff which caught our eye.  The cold, wet and tamped-down environment was beautiful – all courtesy of Ma Nature.