Shockingly, Yes, This Is Me, Praising Winter....

I live in 'cottage country' in Ontario. We have lots of temporary residents & tourists in the summertime, and then in the winter many of our friends head south to escape the snow and ice.

In the spring and summer we have bugs as big as pterodactyls, and the humidity is something else again.  I do love the fall, when the leaves in this wooded area put on their beauty pageant.

But I like winter. Yes, I do. Ironically, I don’t do winter sports – Did you ever see that Disney film about Bambi? Remember Bambi on ice, when the poor little critter was slipping& sliding everywhere? Well, that's me. Can't keep my balance to save my, er, dignity. I did try cross-country skiing once, but it was too embarrassing to watch the four and five year olds skiing past me as I sat on my rear in the snow, skis pointing skywards…

So what, you may ask, makes me sing the praises of winter?

Well, aside from the sheer beauty of it all, there's a serious snowstorm coming in – they say it will be a bad one. Tomorrow's trip to Ottawa will be white knuckled at times, and we'll bless every snow plow we meet. Sometimes the bad weather wipes out our satellite internet connection, possibly for as long as several days. Yes, I hate that – oh, but all the extra time I find in my day…

And it's quiet. I'm sitting here now, in my office, and watching the snow which started as a few flurries, gaining in strength until it becomes a thick curtain which will almost obscure the chicken coop on the other side of the driveway.

And I am writing. This is my first blog in months. My first writing in months. There has been a lot going on in life, distractions good and bad, that have meant taking some sort of action. Now, with the snow building, it's quiet and peaceful. All the worries and pleasures demanding attention have to be set aside – everything comes to a halt.

It's cozy and quiet in my tiny office with the huge window looking out onto the landscape that's rapidly changing into a winter wonderland. There are three cats sleeping on the pillows beside me, the computer is working - the power hasn't gone off yet - and I've a hot cup of tea right here...

It's peaceful and did I say how good it feels to be writing again at last?