The gentler Dells, as seen in November

When I wrote earlier about the pleasures of “escaping” for a while in times of stress, I did not exactly count the little sojourn to the Wisconsin Dells that I had on my calendar for today. But I am glad I came (there is a State Bar meeting at the Kalahari Resort that I have to attend). Not only did I get to see a large formation of geese heading south on my way up, but I also saw something that so reminds me of the Polish countryside in the winter that I had to choke back on nostalgia: hoarfrost. I think that is the correct English word for it. It’s not unique to Poland, I know. But it is something I have woken up to repeatedly, because Poland has moist winters and the freezing layer of wetness creates a beautiful landscape on a snowless winter morning. Picture it: farmsteads, narrow strips of farmland and meadows, a birch forest, a riverbank, all muted by a white veil, to be dispensed with when the sun approaches the eleventh hour. So beautiful.