The end of things, at least with northern trees, can be a beautiful thing. Going out in a blaze of glory, was first coined by an autumn leaf.

This scene is utterly unremarkable in summer, but the isolation of winter transforms it into a statement about endurance. Its on Route 125 just outside Middlebury College. See it you can find it in summer.

If I were a Junco foraging for whatnot under my Thalia triandrus narcissus, I'd see this when I looked up.