It’s always a challenge to find beauty in the bleakness this time of year.  Whether it’s the gray cold, the sense of isolation amid the desperate festive frenzy all around us, or the dysfunctional state of the union, it’s hard to stay hopeful sometimes.  All you can do is keep moving forward and be glad for all the little signs of life continuing undaunted.  Like these determined green collards holding on in the garden.  Or this one small yellow flower I found hiding among all the dead, dry weeds in the field, like a bright neon sign in the drabness, proclaiming “Open for Business”.