Surprise: In the rainy washed meadow in the middle of New England winter along the Charles River there are vibrant colors to break the monotony of such steely cloud covered sky and dead and dormant plant life. Red dogwood switches gather and glow in bright bunches. Enchanting fungi, (found off the path under a tree in the litter of rotting leaves), seems freshly painted by an artist in oils. I have returned from a landscape of succulent plants, mountains, pacific waves, intriguing cacti and fragrant sage, rinsed by sheets of drought breaking rain, to these dreamy rich reds in this welcoming warmth of my woods.