Photos by Barry Hass

Pine needles, fallen leaves, and thin shards of ice created this abstract pattern on the forest floor.

Christmas brought warm, soaking rains, washing away last week’s snow and leaving the fields behind our house spongy and dotted with shallow pools. Late the next day, the water reflected the moon rising in a clear sky, and naked trees painted orange by the setting sun.

The end of a winter afternoon.

Snow laden trees seem to be bowing down to a regal swan gliding down the river, looking very much like the Queen of Winter making her entrance.

Don’t let the light go out.

Out for a walk on a gray day, this splash of color clinging to a tree caught my eye.

Plum Island, in Newburyport, Massachusetts, has long been one of my favorite day trip getaways.

Fall biking is one of the highlights of my year. It feels like a reward for pushing through the sweat soaked rides of summer, the time when the weather and I are both at our best.
November starts out fall-like. But as the weeks pass, I add one layer of clothing after another until the point, usually around the end of the month, when a bitter north wind convinces me it’s time to put my bike away for the winter.

The world is still just as messed up as last week, in most of the same ways. But this week I’m feeling just a little more hopeful.

About six inches of snow fell here the day before Halloween – unusually early for this part of the world.