As winter lifts her white robes and moves around the stage prior to her big exit, the audience here in the Midwest is waving the back of its hand at her to shoo her behind the curtain and out the stage door before they give way to applause.

Nevertheless, we cannot deny her beauty at times.  She does put on some stunning performances to help us tolerate the bleak tragedies that seem to play out day after frozen, cold day.

When a heavy snow falls, creating an etching from the usual blur of the woods behind our house, we do have to stop and view it as a winter paradise.

Branches laden with heavy snow droop down to display their beauty right at eye level, begging us to take a few moments to notice that they’ve turned to lace.

I hate winter.  My preference would be to have beautiful fall colors and jacket weather right up until dusk on Christmas Eve, at which time around two inches of snowfall would blanket the earth, bringing a respectful hush over all creation.  Then, just to be fair, I’d allow it to do it’s thing right up until January 2^nd and then we’d all go back to sunshine and jackets again.

Though we long for outdoor activities and that roasty-toasty feeling of the sun warming our backs as we bend over new growth in flower beds, our last round of snow reminded us that we will be waiting a little while for those joys.

It’s difficult for me to feel like I’m thriving in winter.  At times, it takes its toll.  There are only so many gray days I can take in a row before a gloomy mood sets in.  Phoebe June’s antics keep me cheery, along with outings for lunch with friends or Smuffy on decent days and a stack of giggle-inducing P. G. Wodehouse books.

There have been winters that left me feeling like I’ve taken a hit – a bit like our big pine tree is feeling right now.

Like the tree, I suppose it might do me good to have some weak areas fall away to allow light and air enter and new growth to fill in the empty places when spring arrives.

Even now, as I conclude these observations, I realize what a terrific writer I must be, because if I can romanticize this awful stuff, I can romanticize anything!  I’ve spent this afternoon writing, ignoring the fact that there is an ice storm warning going on out there!

Upon hearing Smuffy’s truck in the driveway just now, I left my lair to greet him.  He entered the back door, telling me he’d just had a bit of excitement.  He’d parked the truck at the top of our driveway’s hill in hopes of being able to leave for work in the morning and while moving the car out of range of an ice-laden tree limb that made him a little nervous, he heard a scrunching sound.

We’re blessed that he’d parked the truck with the wheels turned, because it missed the car, three trees and Smuffy as it slid all the way down the driveway and into the neighbors’ yard.  If a fallen limb left over from the last round of nasty weather hadn’t stopped it, who knows where it might have ended up! I could use another chapter of Wodehouse after that.

My little afternoon romantic fling with winter’s beauty is over now.  It’s lost its appeal again and it’s time for a break-up!  It’s time for SPRING! 

To all my readers who live in winter’s grip – hang in there!  Try to think of March as only days away.

To all my hyacinths – you should have listened last week when I told you to pull your heads back below ground because those two sixty degree days were just a cruel joke!

Need a spring preview to chase away the gray? Take a tour through my garden in full bloom here!

If the gloom requires a good laugh, make a cup of tea and settle down with the stories on my “Life With Smuffy” page. You’ll feel better in no time. He isn’t the only one who’s here to entertain – the “Laugh” page has more!

Questions?  Comments?  Click on “Leave a comment”.  I’d love to hear your thoughts on winter, wherever you live!