In-home and residential care options for octogenarians have become extremely limited in these trying times, so I’ve been spending the last quarter of 2021 at my parents' in the White Mountains. This will continue into 2022. I miss DC, but it’s not like I can take advantage of the city’s rich research and cultural resources during this never-ending pandemic.

Echo Lake, newly frozen over, with Cathedral Ledge in the background
The last 6 or 8 inches of corn stalks left after the summer's corn crop was harvested. They poke through a layer of snow and ice. It is dusk, and the sun just disappeared behind a mountain.

Photos taken in North Conway, New Hampshire, by author.