I am sitting on the terrace of my home in Dorset, Vermont. The newly risen sun is gathering strength. It pierces the leafy canopy above my head and marbles my lawn with dappling light. In the space between my favorite maples a cloud passes, a puffy interloper in an otherwise pristine sky. My children are safe in their beds, but soon they will wake and insist we go swimming at a nearby pond. It is an idyllic tableau.展开