Over the past several winters I have become facinated by some particular trees that lie in the understory of the woods I drive by daily. Even in the heart of winter, these trees cling to their brittle brown leaves while all the others are nakedly gray. These leaves glow almost golden when the low-angled sunlight of winter shines through them. Though they are lifeless, in the right light they are beautiful. I did stop one day to take some photographs. This one seemed to capture what my eyes noticed. Later, after studying the photograph, I spied a bud, crouched at the base of a leaf ...a rumor of things to come.