it's about the light

For this little color study, the first from the reference photos taken at the Nisqually Refuge, it's about the light. When we started our mile walk, it was winter but the sun came out for the last 15 minutes.

'It was one of those March days when the sun shines hot and the wind blows cold: when it is summer in the light, and winter in the shade'   Charles Dickens

It's also about the new lights in my studio. I seem to be seeing/thinking/painting lighter and perhaps with more punch (range of value, contrast).