This time of year in Humptulips County frost competes with fog for morning dominance. Since it is still November, fog prevails in these battles much of the time, as it has this morning. This morning’s fog is light and graceful in its ethereality; transparency is its hallmark. Yet, despite the fog’s overall dominance, a touch of frost graces the needles at the very tips of our pines’ branches, decorating them with hints and rumors of the deep winter lying ahead.
Yesterday was different; for the first time this year, frost prevailed over fog. Since our house is nestled within a cluster of pines surrounded on all sides by open fields, the view from our library windows made it appear as if we had been transported overnight to an enchanted land – the Misty Mountains or Neverland, perhaps; or, more likely, the fringes of Narnia. Since the day was cloudless and bright, the fields sparkled long into the morning, serving as a reminder that it’s time to wear a warmer coat, and that boots, gloves, and hats should be taken from the depths of our front hall closet and placed to hand should needs dictate – as they certainly will almost any day now.
The holidays are at hand, the first only a matter of days away. The seasonal shopping spree begins this coming Friday; Christmas carols will then rule the airwaves. Yesterday, while shopping for groceries for the upcoming Thursday feast, we saw a house decorated for the season. Its owner, apparently determined to be first and jump the Thanksgiving starting gun, had decorated its porch columns with bright red bows and the trees in its front yard with brightly colored plastic bulbs. The effect was awkward; the sentiment premature.
But despite the impending commercialism, despite the gloom which has ruled our house of late due to the recent passing of Helen’s sister, winter’s brightness beckons from deep within this morning’s murk. This morning’s touch of frost is its avatar and advance scout: suggestive of its stark beauty, and reminding us that the world is not ruled by petty human concerns but by the hand and mind of nature.
