I am grateful for all this snow. Winter is tough enough with all its cold and dreariness, but a big load of snow has always had the capacity to just plain-old make me feel better. The fallow fields that surround our home have surrendered their muddy brown coats in favor of a bright drapery of light. Our persistent gray sky has met its match, for now at least. The silhouettes of trees that perennially catch my eye are made that much more lovely, and clear.

On a morning when the sun breaks through, at first all I can see is the expanse of snow. There is largeness and weight to contend with, but that is not what I came here for.


The last few days I have begun to notice the birds more. The small ones for the most part, like our pair of cardinals, but there is also the arc of a red-tailed hawk as he makes his rounds. I never see him but understand that he is saying, pay attention.

This is what there is.