Backwards glimpse

In January, the landscape is mostly white and grey, with dark trees hunched near snow-covered roads. Even the sky is often grey, with swirling whiteness that blurs houses and fences. As I drive along a country road, I find myself looking for bits of colour: the purple coat of a young woman walking out to her mailbox, the bright green helmet of a snowmobiler crossing a field, or the red barn I glimpse in the rear view mirror.