On the Island, we measure and treasure the months of quietude, the resting period before the approach to the summer season begins, and it causes us to come up short to realize that February is halfway done and spring is little more than a month away.

The cold has not fled, but even it has gentled, and when the winds that the Island knows so well rest for a moment at midday, the sun's a warm friend that promises to come again for a longer stay. The briefest month soon will wear away, but we can enjoy its purification while it lingers.