Yesterday morning: left the house early once again, pulling out of the garage a few minutes past six. Sky clear and cloudless, light just beginning to gather along the ridges across the valley, a fat crescent moon hanging low in the southern sky. Me taking the pleasures I can from being up at that hour, from finding myself in deep north country winter -- crisp air, snow cover thinner (thanks to recent weather that massaged the temperature up above the freezing mark for a few days), hours of light expanding steadily. That last bit is the one that brings the most pleasure -- there was a time when I loved the darkness of winter, the turning inward of life. Not the case right now, something that may be another example of Madrid's impact on me. There, during the year's darkest days, daylight lingers in the sky until 6 p.m. As opposed to the dishearteningly early hour (4 to 4:30 p.m.) that nighttime takes hold here in December.
The sun hangs in the sky longer now, no longer sinking behind the trees at 3 p.m. Which means expanding hours of sunlight pouring in south-facing windows, at least on days of no overcast. Those brilliant, sunlit afternoons compensate for a lot.
Snowy days: driving along the winding two-lanes that points toward Montpelier, curling lines of snow on the pavement, like marbling, rising into the air when cars pass, becoming swirling sheets of white that slowly form lines again, drifting along asphalt then settling down until the next passing car rouses them.
During the milder days, rising temperatures cut into the ground cover, the air becoming thick with snowmelt mist, shrouding hills and fields, growing more dense with each passing hour. Turning gray days into something more mystical.
A good thing about all the changing conditions: they force my routines to change. Overnight storms sometimes keep me in the house in the mornings, the hike into town happens later in the day, I see different faces, shift around errands, gym, walks, work. I sometimes have a real tendency toward settling into patterns -- being moved out of them is good for me.
Snowy weather moved again in last night, this morning's daylight was the uniform, slowly swelling gray of overcast instead of the shifting brilliance of a sunrise. It'll all pass. We're now well into the second half of February, the holidays a distant memory. Valentine's Day, Presidents Day, both gone. The brief thaw of last week had people talking about sap running, sugaring, all that. Someone mentioned that the price of maple syrup has taken a major leap this year. One more subject for small talk in town, along with changing weather and all the rest.
And the days slip past.
España, te echo de menos
rws 9:06 PM [+]
Comments:
Post a Comment