The Beautiful Birch

We see a lot of these in our part of the world. Actually you could say the same in virtually any of the cooler regions of Europe, Russia and Japan. It's one of many millions of silver birch, Betula pendula.
However, I rarely look, really look, at these trees. When I do I see how beautiful they are with their white and grey patterned trunks, hanging twigs, and leaves moving in the slightest breeze. They have a beauty at any time of year, and their tiny seeds seem to provide smaller birds with winter food.  They are perhaps especially beautiful when viewed against a blue sky, while we sit eating a salad in the shade of the camper van, next to a lake (in which we will shortly swim), just below Själevads Church, blipped in May 2020.
The picture is taken as we drove home from Umeå after a lovely trip to Claire's. We also stopped off at Ava camping and beach, N of Örnsköldsvik, spending a pleasant 45 minutes sitting on the jetty, dangling our feet into the very cold water.