50 Shades of Grey

February is a month of 50 shades of grey...the light blue grey of the landscape during a snowstorm, the dark grey of a storm moving in or moving out, the grey of the snow after it's been around for a few days,  the grey that has invaded my hair. I find myself doing grey scales with my art students, hoping they see and learn how to make its many subtle variations. I make grey scale landscapes, and  surround them in domes of snow....

Storm after storm have rolled in, creating a monocrhomatic landscape devoid of color, deposting piles of moisture that I measure with a yardstick, piles that have wrecked my back and Larry's arms.  I have lost the compost bins, I have lost my stone walls.  I have forgotten what colors lie beneath the layers of snow and ice, and can only hope that my roof and gutters will hold up with its weight.

I find myself grateful for odd things like snow tires and Canadian boots. Today's boots are grey, as is my coat and cashmere scarf. If I fell in the snow, I might not be found till spring.

But the days are getting longer, the light stronger. Nature's palette will change, and the world will be abundant with color. And oh what a joy that will be.

Photos taken from a back road in Woodstock. I had gone to an appointment - the sky a light grey when I left, with a hint of darkness on the horizon. An hour later I was driving in 4" of unplowed snow, in near whiteout conditions. Oh what an adventure it has been.