happy equinox

Today is the first day of spring, and there are several inches of fresh snow on the ground.

We were supposed to get over a foot of snow yesterday, and everyone cancelled school and it ended up not being nearly that much but we did get a few inches. Part of me feels a bit annoyed-- it was nice to see grass again, and have the kids play outside at the playscapes without needing full-on water/snow-proof gear on, etc.  At the same time, fresh snow is kinda nice. I'm discovering that this late winter/not-quite-spring part of the year, with the slushy, half-melted snow and the drab, muddy ground exposed, isn't all that appealing. It's gotten cold again, too, and if it's gonna be cold it might as well be snowy, too, I guess.

I had to go to the store yesterday and I was dragging my feet about it, not wanting to get out in the still-falling snow.  Finally I headed out at the end of the day, and as I got on the road I felt that blah-ness melt away as I remembered just how gorgeous a fresh snowfall can make everything look. The trees, signs, lamp posts, even the power lines were all outlined in white, and with the cloud cover and daylight waning the world looked as close as it gets to real-life black and white.

We got a dusting more overnight, and this morning the sun was shining and it turns out that right now we leave the house for D's school at what must be the perfect Golden Hour time. I don't know what it is, if it's the snow, or something about the light here in New England, but the way the warm golden rays fall on the snow and trees and buildings, contrasting with the cool blue tones of the sky and shadows, is just utterly stunning. This really doesn't do it justice, but here's the view that greeted us this morning when we left the house:

Except about 100x prettier. I'm sure I've mentioned this before, but the drive out to D's school is just gorgeous, and this morning was no exception. I knew I couldn't pull off and take pictures along the way, so instead I tried to burn the imagery to my brain. I did swing by campus on our way back and snap a quick picture of the iconic Tuck building. 

By the time Q and I got home clouds were rolling in and the light was already changing, and it's still pretty when I look out the window but that magical quality brought on by the morning light has passed. But I was glad to witness it and enjoy it during our little morning commute.