I have it on good authority that the
snowflake has long been up at the crossroads of Fifth Avenue and 57th Street in New York City. Shop windows are already dressed for the coming holidays, and December 2nd is the date for lighting the
Rockefeller Center tree.
Ice-skating continues on manufactured outdoor rinks, not only at Rockefeller Center, but also at the
Harlem Meer and “The Pond” at
Bryant Park, where the carousel sits empty in the shadow of the next new thing.
In the country, December unfolds more peaceably. There is no snow yet, though it’s bound to come soon. For now, the leaves are down, revealing the architecture of the trees. As the sun drops, they project long-limbed patterns across the russet ground.
Keats called December “
drear-nighted.” I don’t agree, for December has a brightness all its own. As I never can when the trees are in full leaf, I’m able to see well into the woods. I spy the deer coming from the pond before they see me. The atmosphere itself is clarified: the summer’s haze, with nothing to suspend it, falls away.
The countryside reclaims December and returns it to the natural world: the only ornaments right now are juncos flitting in the hemlock and a blue jay perched on a leafless branch.
I have it on good authority that the snowflake has long been up at the crossroads of Fifth Avenue and 57th Street in New York City. Shop windows are already dressed for the coming holidays, and December 2nd is the date for lighting the Rockefeller Center tree.
Ice-skating continues on manufactured outdoor rinks, not only at Rockefeller Center, but also at the Harlem Meer and “The Pond” at Bryant Park, where the carousel sits empty in the shadow of the next new thing.
In the country, December unfolds more peaceably. There is no snow yet, though it’s bound to come soon. For now, the leaves are down, revealing the architecture of the trees. As the sun drops, they project long-limbed patterns across the russet ground.
Keats called December “drear-nighted.” I don’t agree, for December has a brightness all its own. As I never can when the trees are in full leaf, I’m able to see well into the woods. I spy the deer coming from the pond before they see me. The atmosphere itself is clarified: the summer’s haze, with nothing to suspend it, falls away. 
The countryside reclaims December and returns it to the natural world: the only ornaments right now are juncos flitting in the hemlock and a blue jay perched on a leafless branch.
Hawaii is reported to have two seasons, winter and summer and it is about rainfall rather than temperature. Whales come in the winter and the jacaranda's bloom after the rains. Each season has its own splendor. Nonetheless, December on the East coast would be lovely!
ReplyDeleteThis post is a nice introduction to December. Very interesting observation that nature alone decorates the empty branches this time of year.
ReplyDeleteThe angle of the sun gives the outdoors a different feel in December.
Love your pictues and your picturesque description of the season!
ReplyDelete