A dusting of snow!

We recently received our first significant snowfall at the Morton Arboretum. On a recent lunchtime walk through the collections, I was reminded of the singular beauty of this season. Tree architecture and structure often take center stage for intrepid hikers at this time of the year. Consider the sharp contrast between the snow covered ground, the tree’s bark pattern, form, habit and branch outline -- all set against the backdrop of a sapphire blue sky. In addition to trees, shrubs and vines, you'll discover that wildflowers and weeds encrusted with frost and snow also have a simple beauty.

Encouraged to take a winter walk at the Arboretum or through your very own neighborhood? Stop by the Sterling Morton Library and peruse some of these resources:

• Tree bark : a color guide by Hugues Vaucher
• Bark by Catherine Chambers
• Bark : the formation, characteristics, and uses of bark around the world photographs by Kjell B. Sandved ; text by Ghillean Tolmie
• Trees in a winter landscape by Alice Upham Smith
• Trees in winter : their study and identification by Albert Francis Blakeslee and Chester Deacon Jarvis
• Studies of trees in winter : a description of the deciduous trees of northeastern America by Annie Oakes Huntington ; with an introduction by Charles Sprague Sargent
• A guide to wildflowers in winter by Carol Levine
• Winter : an ecological handbook by James C. Halfpenny, Roy Douglas Ozanne
• Weeds in winter written and illustrated by Lauren Brown