January Austerity

Field Notes III.III: Photographs and musings on January's harsh beauty

Welcome to Field Notes!

It is not good to be entirely without experience of cold and heat, but one ought in some degree to feel the cold in winter and likewise the heat in summer and to seek shade as little as possible.

Musonius Rufus

January’s arrival prompts an immediate shift in perspective. Exactly why is unclear. The days are as varied as any in mid-winter, but the balance shifts from overcast days the muted color of cold stone to many more with skies of unblemished cobalt blue and a brightness that cuts like a razor. Every day seem suddenly brighter. It is as if a minute more of sunlight per day since the winter solstice becomes at once perceptible when the calendar turns.

December carried a different cold. It was a dark time for nesting inside with coffee and old books. It was also a time for community, ceremony, and feasting on the last of autumn’s harvest.

That time is over. January calls us out. Perhaps for ancient man this was a time of leanness and fasting. With senses heightened by hunger, he stepped out into the grim cold before dawn, shirking off the warmth of shelter. This was the time for work, a time to hunt, at time to embrace the physical struggle for survival. Could this instinct linger in our modern times in the form of resolutions we set for the coming months and year?

January austerity is the fumbling of numb fingers on camera dials, trying to adjust for creativity that still slumbers in hibernation. The camera, who’s battery is draining rapidly in freezing temperatures, struggles too. Cold stings the face, seeps deep into the bones, and settles in the feet, throbbing painfully in boots crunching across frozen ground.

Winter winds attune the mind to an acute perception of being alive. The winds slip through the desperate grasp of leafless branches overhead, reaching to the fathomless sky. Those branches do little to block the piercing rays of the sun from striking the eye. Squinting, it is easy to imagine the feel of those bare sticks scraping skin. But these are the sensations of aliveness. They describe a dynamic flow of vitality.

Desired progress in January comes with setbacks too. Flu season strikes. The truck needs costly repairs, limiting mobility. Those days pass by unsettled.

It can be difficult to find beauty here in January. The brown of the trees rises above the brown of the dead grass and earth. Any lingering green in the understory is all invasive shrubbery. Buildings and modern structures are revealed by the discarded cloak of tree foliage. Harsh shadows streak across soft mud. Look for the light. I can assure you the beauty is there.

Then the weather hits just right for snow. Several sub freezing days bring ice to ponds and puddles. Excitement builds with the arrival of expectant clouds. White crystals drift from the sky. Light at first, but building in intensity. As snow accumulates across the ground, so too an elated sense of wonder is amplified. Wonder haloed by fear. Fear of driving on it. Of sliding. Of getting stuck.

The challenge of photographing the snow becomes apparent. Novelty of the event does not easily translate into a good image under heavily overcast skies and flat light. Creative achievement feels elusive, but even so it is a thrilling hunt.

Stepping into the early morning darkness the next day is accompanied with a wash of air so pure and clear that frost touches the soul. The clouds are gone. Stars in the blackness above shine with a sharpness that describes the precision of natural law- of endless time and gravity and other unimaginable processes.

Winter training is called for; one has to be prepared and not rush into situations for which one is ill suited.

Epictetus

Branches hang heavy with thick coverings of frost and ice. Boughs bend. Some break. The weight of winter is substantial on mornings like this. These are the conditions that have given rise to the natural world, and to us as well. The forest understands the value of cold in its proper time. The forest knows the beauty of January austerity.

Ever so slowly, the earth turns to face the sun. Angled rays of light set frost covered vegetation aglow with luminous radiance. Infinitesimal geometric ice crystals gleam like multi-colored gemstones in the light. The brilliant display overwhelms any perception of the cold.

So, with the rising sun comes movement. Movement of receding shadows. Movement of a slow thaw of ice. There is movement in the mind as it seeks to comprehend the stunning elegance of it all. And then comes movement in the creative flow that seeks to communicate the unspeakable.

The beautiful and the severe are often integral to one another. So, January’s austerity is revealed as a welcome thing. It is an opportunity for challenge, to grow and overcome, to stay true to oneself in hostile conditions. To embrace and welcome the cold is to embrace this radiance and to embrace nature and the conditions that gave rise to our own humanity. We awaken our consciousness and creativity. It is a hard winter training.

The next stretch of days is warmer. The snow has melted. The frost is gone. But the coming week carries another possibility of snow. It is time to step forward resolutely towards the austerity of January.

Everyone, today’s post was an attempt at artful words. I hope it transmitted in a coherent way. Sometimes I really prefer to write about anything other than myself, but it can be surprisingly difficult to remove myself from the story and let nature and ideas have their own voice. The danger in that is presenting you a word salad.

These photos and ideas are an eclectic, not necessarily chronological selection of scenes and thoughts from over the course of about a week and a half. I did my best to stitch them together in a way that makes any sense. Hopefully something here resonates. If not, at least there are pretty pictures! Tell me your impressions-

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