By Scott Shephard

I am about to experience my 71st South Dakota winter. Given that I don’t like winter, I may be the perfect example of Einstein’s definition of insanity: Doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.”

But I’m not insane and I don’t expect anything different: we will have snow and we will have some very cold, short days. At some point, I will ask, “Why do we live here?!”

I have good answers to that question but I won’t offer them here. Instead, for those of you in the Great White North who feel as I do, and even for those who live in more benign climates, today’s photos might offer a literal answer: there is wonder and beauty everywhere. All we have to do is open our eyes. In my case, when I picked up my camera on a cold morning in November, 2009, I chose to open my eyes and I couldn’t get enough of what I saw.

Beyond their literal meaning, I think there’s a symbolic meaning to the photos. On the second morning after an election that has left some people disillusioned and feeling hopeless, I suggest that you look away from that news and seek solace in all the good things that no doubt surround you.

It could be flowers and frost but there may be simpler things. For example, yesterday morning our youngest cat Zoe followed me downstairs at 2:30 am after I had learned about the results of the election and couldn’t go back to sleep. She watched me make coffee, rubbed against my ankle and when I picked her up, she purred. A little bit later, as I was working on yesterday’s somewhat dark and esoteric blog post, Zeke, our 11 year old cat came into my office. He rarely has time for me but yesterday he jumped up on my desk and lay down in front of the keyboard. When our eyes met, he, too, started to purr. It’s good to have “people” in your life that are oblivious to current events. Yesterday, I was grateful for the hope, comfort and consolation in something as simple as a cat’s purr.

The cats helped me yesterday. Today these photos take me to a better place and help me forget the things I don’t really care for, including South Dakota winters. Maybe they’ll do the same for you.

Canon 5DII f/4.0 1/100 sec ISO 320