Sepia Tones Blur the Harsh of Winter on the Gardens

I've made it really plain how much I don't like winter. So, when invited to submit photos for a contest entitled Winter Wonders Photo Contest with the theme being: What I love about the winter garden, I found it extremely hard to be positive about something that's always been a negative for me. I went to the site to research the contest rules and see what other contributors had submitted and I found something extraordinary there. It wasn't the winter in the winter garden people loved but the state of the garden enduring winter. I have to say, I understand that.

I applaud my garden's ability to withstand elements that would cause me to perish if I were exposed to winter as my garden is. So far this year, our losses have been minimal. We have a river birch out in front of the house. It was a three-trunk tree until one of the trunks froze, split, and broke away from the mother clump. This once lovely tripod is now an adequate biped. I have little room for complaining though when this winter has been so harsh and has done so much damage in so many places.

The above picture has been altered by filters as were my submissions. Blur the harsh realities of cold by applying the romantic tones of sepia to the winter part of the winter garden and I find it somehow more acceptable. About the garden itself during this time of year? I admire its tenacity to withstand the worst of elemental punishment with the ethereal grace of patience.