Bewitched woods for the New Year...

Despite the title of the post, the woods didn't actually look particularly bewitched, or dark for that matter but having heard The Rite of Spring by Stravinsky the other day I was looking for any excuse to include it on a post. And of course, I do love the very particular beech woods not far from the city.

 The trees there look very atmospheric at any time of year, with their strange, twisted branches and tortured forms. However, their unique silhouette appears even more bizarre in the winter months. The particular history of this specific tree I mentioned a few years ago, in a post called The Weird Faux de Verzy. 

 This time I chose black and white, but in fact there was iridescent green moss growing on trunks and boughs alike and bright red berries in the skeletal undergrowth or the swathes in the branches above.

 Not to mention the ever-green of the ivy creeping upwards or the fluffy seed down that still clings onto the plants, long after the autumn.

I was tempted to blow on the seeds to make a New Year wish...

And that was when the notion of witchery came into play. For in spite of my will for change, it seems that some changes just won't occur unaided; resolution isn't enough. So I would love to perform some kind of magical feat. And the atmosphere in these woods would surely capture the mood...

May your New Year bring you serenity and beauty around you!