I stayed up half the night reading a powerful book about Detroit by Charlie LeDuff – I’ll review it later on and I noticed that winter had returned with some bite and fury. I could see my breath, even in the darkness of the bedroom and I heard the wind shrieking against the house. Winter is over in my head, and I know that’s premature, but I can smell spring, I can feel it in  my bones. I told Maria I’d love to build a garden by the side of the house, maybe even get a small greenhouse put in. I want to put color all around the farmhouse, bring it back to life in every way. I came downstairs at 3 a.m. – had some nightmares, perhaps related to the book – and cranked up the wood stove, put on some oatmeal for breakfast.

Winter defines spring for me, days like this bring to mind the colors of spring, the green grass, the animals grazing. The dogs didn’t even pretend to want to be outside in the howling wind, they were all lined up by the back door when I opened it. I want a quiet and meditative day today, maybe take a ride with Maria, one of my favorite things in the world. She sketches, I take photos.