Under normal circumstances, which is to say, when I was younger and more prone to weather-related angst, the warming trend, which this morning brought temperatures well above freezing, would have driven me to wails and moans about the unfairness of it all. Maybe I really have mellowed in my dotage, for the warmth that brought light rain and soft fog and caused the snow to give up the ghost, simply carried only the slightest touch of melancholy. I didn't want to see the white blanket disappear. I wanted to keep cross-country skiing. I wanted even more snow, so I could take the snowshoes for a spin. But this is southern New England in the "banana belt" days driven by global warming. You have to accept the fact that real winter weather is becoming an endangered species and delight in its increasingly rare appearances. When it departs too soon, it's better for one's mental health to give thanks... and grab the camera to record the misty evidence of winter's genuine presence.