I was talking recently to a doctor who cares for many terminal patients, and who not only has to deal with the complex shifts of thinking that the dying require to accept the ending of their lives, but also has to deal with the tangled webs of response that families have to these leave-takings.

As the year ends I look out my window and see a snowy, cold Chicago afternoon. Yet I know that a few miles from here, underneath the protective covering of our hoophouses, delicious, fresh vegetables are still doing well. Spinach, lettuce, salad-mix, and kale are doing especially well. They don’t grow fast because of the lack of sunlight, but rather the hoophouses serve as a kind of refrigerator, keeping them safe throughout the winter.