New York City, January 6, 2015

★★★ The morning cold immediately went through canvas sneakers. Trampled dog turds lay scattered loosely over the pavement, too stiff to adhere to it. The four-year-old rejected the concept of walking to school and had to be intermittently lifted and carried a few yards, puffy coat against adult’s puffy vest, to restart his feet. The blue of the sky was more washed out than it had been, and the horizon was brown. By midday, the sun, low as it was, was warm enough to allow the parka to hang unzipped. After the light had finished its quick afternoon passage — with a flourish of deep orange high on a building to mark the end — it was time to zip up again.