...more winter bits

I have lived with 4 distinct seasons and loved it...
I miss it even though I only lived in Chicagoland for 5 years...

however...

even though I love the crisp cold of winter...
[though around here, it tends to be a more damp cold...]
there is something to be said for a NorCal "winter"...
uh... make that, "colder & wetter" season...

FYI these trees exist within 100 yards on the same block...

some liquid amber trees still have some fall color...
in January...
even after several storms...

while this Japanese maple has been bare of leaves for some time...
with no buds in sight...

farther to the south a few yards, this Bradford pear tree...
is one of a pair that have green leaves still...
you can see that a few leaves are red...
they will turn and fall, eventually...

and on the southern end of the block...
this plum tree has swelling buds...
it always is the first to blossom in the "spring"...
and by the end of this month, it will be, "out"...
followed quickly by the red leaf plum near it...