The most serious charge which can be brought against New England is not Puritanism, but February.... Spring is too far away to comfort even by anticipation, and winter long ago lost the charm of novelty. This is the very three a.m. of the calendar.
~- Joseph Wood Krutch
This is one of the once-renown essayist's most famous lines. But we don't entirely agree with him. The brighter mornings and the faster melting of ice and snow, compared to January, in this shortest month make February suitable for hope. A mild February day can produce a brief moment of ecstasy.
