Okay…so sometimes I see things. Things like shapes in the clouds, tree people, heart-shaped rocks.  So imagine my excitement when I my way home from work I saw “her”. A beautiful tree lady covered in ivy. She may have always been there but with winter waning and spring coming she stepped out from behind the drive-by landscape and said hello.

Now before you think I’m totally bonkers I’ll save you the trouble of thinking it. I am. Bonkers that is. But life is so much more interesting when you allow your imagination to have its way with you.

With that I give you my initial encounter with the tree lady… 

Do you see her? Now you can understand why I got so excited when I discovered her there, leaning into the tree.  Of course I always like to play with photos, adding some digital filters to see what other secrets are hidden there. To my surprise my tree lady transformed into the Snow Maiden! And there to her lower right, Father Frost!

As one legend tells it he allowed her to become a human girl to live with a childless couple but warned her that she must never give in to love or consider having a romantic relationship. Despite his warning she couldn’t resist.  When she felt true love for the first time her heart could not bear its warmth. It caused her to melt away. But that was not the end of the poor Snow Maiden. It is said that on the first day of the year (today is Chinese New Year after all and it is also the new moon!) Father Frost whisks her away to the North in advance of Mother Spring’s return, where she becomes beautiful once again and plays all summer on the frozen seas.

Well…I know this all sounds pretty fantastical. However did my imagination have such a flight of fancy you might say?  It is this enhanced photo with a simple digital filter that opened the gate of my imagination. See if you can them for yourself. And sweet dreams to all you dreamers. ❤️