Ever since I started going "up north" (Cheboygan, Michigan; Black Lake area), I have experienced the tranquility and soothing silence of the winter days and nights up there. Going for walks and taking in the unexplainable beauty of the area in the winter time was something that I always looked forward to. When on these walks, details of the scenery would seem to come alive.......the rustling of the tree branches thick with ice, the glistening of the snow blanketing the ground, the beautiful sound of pure silence and the curiosity of why some leaves were left on the trees when, tradition has it, they are supposed to fall off when winter arrives. What caused these special leaves to hang on so tightly and survive the winter? This is my interpretation of why one of those leaves hung on and enjoyed the magical things that happen "UP NORTH".