Wednesday, December 26, 2007

That Season of Hats and Mittens

Perhaps I am an oddity, but after moving from Arizona to Connecticut, I quickly discovered that Winter is my favorite season. I'll forgo lush Springtime, activity-filled Summer, and colorful Fall for That Season Of Hats and Mittens and Christmas Trees. Here are a few of my favorite things:

  • The smell of ice in the air, especially when you know it is going to snow
  • The sound of claws scrambling on bark as two squirrels greedily argue over acorns
  • The perfect, quiet air of heavy snowfall (which is improved vastly over winter break, when the Yale undergrads are gone)
  • Dogs that sniff more because it's cold (and hard to smell!)
  • Red cheeks and chilly ears
  • Radiators
  • True appreciation of blankets, and particularly, of that miraculous stuff, Wool
  • Comfort food

Okay, you knew I had to bring it back to food. This is a food blog, right? Well, I actually don't have any recipes for you today (unless you consider confirmation that a 1:1 cheese:pasta ratio is not high enough for good macaroni and cheese - I did an experiment - a recipe). I will, however, mention one more of my favorite things about Winter - it reminds me of the colors of the desert southwest. I find the naked trees, faded contrast and desolate panoramas beautiful in their own right. I love the striation in the snow of white upon gray upon darker gray, even though I know it comes from road dirt. The damp concrete that reveals meandering cracks, hidden shapes and mysteriously watery reflections makes me want to pull out a camera every five steps. Winter is a feast for my eyes.













2 comments:

Marce said...

You are a talented photographer and write since you manage to make winter sound good. However, I´m not so easily convinced, so I´ll hang on to my beloved spring! ;)

Allison said...

Those photographs are incredible! And I also love the winter, for all the reasons you've described. My favorite time is right after an ice storm, when the trees are covered in ice so that their branches just glimmer in the sunlight, like glass. =)