This
is the time of year I dread most: a solid week of subzero temps; on a good day,
a high in the single digits. This year, more so than others, a biting wind has
come with it. All I want to do is crawl under the covers and sleep it away.
But
of course, life goes on—as much indoors as possible! Even that’s a strain,
though, with freezing pipes, firewood consumption higher in three days than
otherwise for a month, and static electricity making the cat run away when you
try to pet him, and your hair standing on end.
Looking
out the window, however, makes all that go away for a moment.
This
evening, I caught the most glorious sunset! Beyond the white stretches of snow
bounded by gray and brown trees, peeking above them, the hills suddenly went
roseate. Purple, mauve, and magenta, with the crystalline sky above forming a
perfect pastel rainbow of violet, lilac, and pink, easing seamlessly into peach
then baby blue, growing ever more richer and deeper blue as I looked up to an
almost-full moon gleaming white like a high-beam headlight behind the black
skeleton arms of near-view trees.
(That
moon, in fact, tends to wake us up at 2:00 in the morning as it crosses the sky
and suddenly beams into the bedroom. We don’t have curtains, so it’s quite a
poke in the eye when you roll over!)
And
then, the stars! OMG, you can see to the end of the universe. All that’s
missing is an aurora borealis to add the final glory. I still dream about
seeing one someday.
But
color comes in other forms, at similarly surprising moments. Yesterday morning,
while doing the dishes, I glanced out the window at the bird feeder and almost
dropped a plate. Normally all we see this time of year are the
black/white/gray/brown species; but there, on opposite sides of the feeder,
were a brilliant red cardinal and an equally brilliant blue jay. In a second,
they were gone.
That
was payback for all those mornings I’ve donned six layers and trudged outside
to refill the feeders. And the view out the curtainless windows is payback for
the chill that comes through unblanketed glass.
