By Elizabeth Ricketson: Ricketson, Elizabeth. "A Surround of Warmth," acrylic, 24" x 30" Gray morning sky. Eight degrees. A frozen golden mist heavily rambled along the hills. Bare tree limbs festively decorated in icy sparkles. I stretched my Yaktrax micro spikes over my bold-yellow Saucony running shoes knowing the going would be sporty. I navigated my snowy way down the drive, carefully dodging thick ice patches that would not be particularly kind to this aging body. Once I reached the...

By Elizabeth Ricketson: Something was different. The dull light outside my early morning window was subtly illuminated. The first snow. A quiet glistened. The ochre earth was covered in white. Twigs and long-dormant grasses poked through the patchy blanket. The gray November skies battled between a cold rain and soft, spitting flakes. Battling to get it seasonally right yet up against a lack of corporation. The struggle was obvious. More snow is in the forecast. Temperatures will plummet this...

By Elizabeth Ricketson: An uninspired foliage season has passed. Leaves were influenced by the severe drought that had impacted Central Vermont for several months. Browned and fragile, easily they dropped from the trees at the mere suggestion of a breeze. The colors, while dulled, were magical still. A hard frost. Thirty-two degrees this Sunday morning with November gray skies overhead. Stick season in full view. The secrets of the forest floor and its inhabitants now exposed. The spine of...