Ah, the joys of winter!

Of all of the family pictures in Mom's albums, this is the only one I found that was taken outside during the winter. It was the winter of 1964 and shows me and my little sister. It looks like I lost my foot, or at the very least, my boot! The houses in the background belong to the neighbors.

Winter used to be fun! Really, it was. Tromping in the wind-sculpted snow drifts. Going sledding down the big hill. Ice skating on the river. Building snow forts with my brothers. Snow-ball fights. Playing outside for so long that it took hours to get warmed up again. Hot chocolate, with marshmallows. Ah, the joys of youth and playing in a winter wonderland!

An early spring snowfall at our house at Karen Kove, north of Columbia City, March ...

My front porch. December ... It almost looks like this today. New fallen snow is pretty, even, dare I say, beautiful. That is, unless, like today, I had to go somewhere. Yesterday we got about 8" of the fluffy white stuff, which, considering conditions elsewhere, isn't all that much. But the wind was blowing too. I certainly didn't enjoy driving this morning on the slippery, snow-packed roads in below zero temperatures (with a -25°F wind chill). Brr.

For me, the best thing about winter? Spring is not all that far away...

The old crabapple tree at Karen Kove, spring of 1999.