Winter Walk in the Woods

This morning when I woke up the whole area was covered in a fog and every branch and blade of grass was covered with ice crystals. So, despite the cold I decided to go for a walk with my camera. I have no idea what I was thinking of, but went out the door with my regular shoes and no gloves. What a mistake.... trails were covered in several inches of snow and below that it had iced up and old footprints that froze in place made it slippery and hard to get footings. It was below freezing so my hands immediately became ice cold and stared to hurt. But, I wanted to photograph the ice crystal covering the branches and grasses. So I tracked along the trail, taking me twice as long as I had expected, so by the time I reached where I thought would be a perfect place for a photo opp. sun had come out and most of the ice crystals were gone... disappointed I started heading back.... then I saw this WOW... bright green pine needles against orange Oak leaves and ice crystals covered grasses in front and the barely visible cardinal... I did not get to photograph what I had hoped but sometimes it is what is totally unexpected that excites you....