The solstice has passed and dark days will begin their gradual winnow toward spring. It’s beautiful in the gardens, something I do not like to admit, at least in early November when everything is brown and the only garden tasks are those that involve clearing dead debris. It’s easy then to forget that snow brings a different sort of bloom.
The house is full of savory smells–stuffed mushrooms baking, pineapple wrapped in bacon, caramel covered grapes dipped in chopped peanuts. And I even made two-layered jello shots with Framboise in one layer and vodka sour in the other. They taste alarmingly good.








Just before Christmas we experienced three days of freezing rain. The last day piled too much ice onto trees and wires and more than 500 thousand households lost their power, mine included. But the ice was beautiful.
