This time of year it is sometimes hard to notice beauty in our surroundings. Much of the United States is still seeing snow. Much more of it sees only brown mud and brown grass. The trees are bare and gray. The sky is often gray as well. I am often tempted to feel depressed by the length of winter in February. I long for the sun and the freshness of spring. However, I found this year that there is beauty to be found in the small things in nature, even in the dead of winter. My children and I discovered…