I love New Hampshire. Just when I think I know this land, it does something to surprise me.

It is snowing outside. It's not unusual for the first snowfall of the year to be in October, but more often than not it's in late November. And the first snowfall of the year doesn't usually accumulate, but there's an inch out there right now.

Nor is it usual for the fall foliage to have occurred as late as it did this year. Usually the peak time is the second week in October, but warm weather delayed it.

The combination of late foliage and early snow accumulation has done something I don't recall ever seeing before. I never tire of the bright reds, oranges, and yellows of a New England autumn. I never tire of snow-coated evergreens and bare-limbed hardwoods. But now I find myself looking out at forests of red, orange, yellow, and green, all with branches and leaves topped with white.

It is more beautiful than I know how to say.