By Scott Shephard

It is -15 Fahrenheit outside my den this morning. With the wind, my weather app says it “feels like” -34. The numbers are even lower if you convert to Celsius.

On days like this, it’s not unusual that I go looking for something to brighten the day. In this case it’s a photo of a beautiful tropical lily drenched in morning dew. In the world of color, red is a ‘warm’ color and I’m thinking that if you hold your hands close enough to this photo, you might feel the heat.

Senses aside, I’ve learned this morning that lilies symbolize many things. In Christian cultures they can represent purity and innocence. But in other parts of the world they can represent passion, abundance, wealth and, in China, 100 years of love.

For me, this flower symbolizes something more literal: outside my window in a small garden is the chrysalis of this red flower waiting for rebirth. I am hopeful and certain. Those are good things to hold close to your heart (and hands) on this first day of the New Year.

Canon 5DII 1/60 f/4.5 ISO 320