Winter thoughts

It's the dead of winter in East Hampton and the cold has settled in for the next weeks ahead. There are many who can't wait to get out of the north for the cold months and Florida beckons to many from here. But I'm not among them. I welcome a short visit to warmer climates, but there are wonders here during the winter months that I love as well. (To me the need to scrape the ice off my car is no worse than waiting for the a/c to make the leather seats tolerable in the heat of August! And there are only so many clothes you can take off when its humid, but layers work great in the coldest months.)

One of the best things about this time of year is the winter landscape, which is beautiful in its simplicity and form. Bare trees are stunningly architectural and against the winter sky especially lovely. The late afternoon sunsets are the perfect backdrop for a horizon lined with the black silhouettes of elms and oaks reaching skyward in the frigid air. Driving down Further Lane recently I saw trees with spiraled branches and they were gorgeous. I would never have seen that with the leaves in full bloom. The birches have peeling bark that's so pretty too. No snow yet, but when that happens it adds another dimension to the landscape.

I also love the bushes that are bare in winter. On Egypt Lane I notice the thick undergrowth, much of it invisible in season as the foliage hides the deeper reaches, but now the thickets are visible and the animals that inhabit them cannot easily find cover. I can see the deer deep inside the woods, calmly wandering about.

The best thing about an overnight snowfall is the absolute quiet that we wake to. No cars, no trucks, only the scraping of an occasional plow slowly rumbling down the street. We can hear the surf from our house when it snows all night. It's a welcome sound.

Winter is stark, but unique and special in its bare and exposed yards. I could use a trip to the Florida Keys for a week or two, more to clear my head than escape the weather, but I wouldn't want to miss all of winter in East Hampton so I'm more than happy to stay right here. It's all about stopping to notice what's around us in order to fully appreciate our surroundings.