I used three different technologies to get this photo of our white birch in an endless, two-day snow and ice storm.

First, the night application on my iPhone 11, then Topaz, which picked up the streaking snow and hail, and then Luminer 4, which made the tree stand out against the dark sky. The photo is very real – I never alter a photograph – but I did bring out the white and catch the feeling of the very dark and stormy night.

This is a tough storm, we spent half the day shoveling. Maria is tired, she did most of the work, so am I, I did more than I thought I would. Our old birch tree feels alive in this photo as if it’s reaching out to the Gods.

I have no complaints about this storm.

I’ve taken a vow to never speak poorly of the weather, it is pointless and self-destructive.

Our hyper culture of alarm has made us fear even the usual storms, let alone the new kinds of storms we are facing.

Everybody has it worse than us, our house is warm and secure, we have plenty of water and sunshine and firewood and heating oil, there are no fires, earthquakes, tornados or bomb cyclones here, brutal hurricanes and tropical storms,  at least not yet.

I have no grounds for complaining I read last week that more than 200,000 Americans have lost their homes to floods, storms, and fires in the last three years while their elected leaders deny the existence of climate change.

That will change, I am sure of it. Speaking poorly of the weather won’t help.