February Days

Winter has become a familiar presence by now, and no longer carries the jolt that it did in December when the Montreal express first came screaming down from Canada with snow, bitter winds and temperatures in the teens.

The groundhog saw his shadow, which according to lore means six more weeks of bad weather, but even that comes as no surprise. This is New England, and anyway we’re used to it all — the heavy coat, the tall boots, the extra pair of shoes in the office so we don’t have to clunk around in the boots all day long.

Last week the freshwater ponds froze and on Sunday Islanders turned out in droves for ice skating and pickup hockey games in the February sunshine, like so many bears emerging from their dens. Spring is still more than a month away, but the days are stronger now and home gardeners have begun to plant their pansies indoors.

And pansies help to color the imagination, even as the snow keeps falling.