AN OUTLOOK ON WINTER 127 



weather. We speak of bad weather, as if weather 

 ever could be bad. Weather is not a human 

 institution, and is not to be measured by human 

 standards. There is strength and mighty uplift in 

 the roaring winds that go roistering over the winter 

 hills. The cold and the storm are a part of winter, 

 as the warmth and the soft rain are a part of 

 summer. Persons who find happiness in the out- 

 of-doors only in what we call pleasant weather, do 

 not really love nature. 



We speak of winter as bare, but this is only a 

 contrast with summer. In the summer all things 

 are familiar and close ; the depths are covered. 

 The view is restricted. We see things near by. In 

 the winter things are uncovered. Old objects have 

 new forms. There are new curves in the roadway 

 through the forest. There are steeper undulations 

 in the footpath. Even when the snow lies deep on 

 the earth the ground-line carries the eye into 

 strange distances. You look far down into the 

 heart of the woods. You feel the strength and 

 resoluteness of the framework of the trees. You 

 see the corners and angles of the rocks. You 

 discover the trail that was lost in the summer. 

 You look clear through the weedy tangle. You 

 find new knot-holes in the tree-trunks. You pene- 

 trate to the very depths. You analyze, and gain 

 insight. 



Many times in warm countries I have been told 

 that the climate has transcendent merit because 

 there is no winter. But to me this lack is its 

 disadvantage. There are things to see, things to 



