A Day of Firsts

Today is the first day of Winter. The first snow fall is gently dusting the trees and lawns. It seems appropriate for New England that our most noteworthy form of weather is gentle and beautiful. For that is what New England is, gentle, slow, and beautiful. We have very few catastrophies of weather. We have no tornadoes or hurricanes or droughts or floods or firestorms.
Occasionally we have a blizzard. The power goes out. The television, the radio, the computer, the lights, and the heat are disabled. It is a time of peace and relaxing. Watching the snow pummel the landscape and watching it slide sideways across the air calls for reading and napping and pondering what is really important in life. Heating water for cocoa over a candle is a simple basic pleasure and leads to appreciation of the times when there is power. It always makes me think of how I should get a gas stove. Then the old adage of "Go Modern, Go Gas, Go Boom!" banishes that thought. When the daylight fades, it is time to hunker down under several blankets and listen to the snow tinkles on the window.
Each of our seasons has its own identity. Spring is the time of planning and seed catalogues and visions of tomatoes and squash and fresh peas dance through our heads. Summer is the time of nurturing and hunting for the dreaded denizen of New England, the tomato horn worm. It is a time of fried clams and hot dogs and chowders. It is the time of fresh corn and lobster and steaks on the grill and ice cold beer and not so icy white wine. The crispness of Fall is a welcome harbinger of what is to come. It is the time of crisp newly picked apples and hot spiced apple cider and cinnamon doughnuts and the New England uniform of wool sweaters and hats. Then comes the blessed relief of Winter. The time of cocoa and roasts and naps and watching the birds at the feeder is upon us. It is the time of ease and reflection upon the blessings of living here in this place where so little happens.
New England is rarely exciting but always enticing. It is kind of like a good bread pudding