Neutral Tones

At this time of year, we hunger for colour. January is typically rather bleak. We have entered that long stretch of gray days and damp cold--always so much chillier than dry cold! In fact, our weather so far has been nothing to complain of: a very few days near -20° and quite a number above zero. Still, the neutral tones are oppressive. That is why even a brief brushstroke of colour in the sky is something to celebrate. After a long dreary overcast day, the evening sky suddenly lit up with splashes of sun.


It made up for the monochrome day, even though it was a fleeting effect. As we head into February, the days still end abruptly. Minutes after coming home from the city, we find the world darkening.

 "We stood by a pond that winter day,
And the sun was white, as though chidden of God,
And a few leaves lay on the starving sod;
         – They had fallen from an ash, and were gray."

That's January--but a few splashes of colour overhead made all the difference.