Beech Tree News Network

Officially, winter hasn’t arrived. But, it’s getting close. During winter – the coldest season of the year in temperate climates, the days are short and the nights are long, with days lengthening as the season progresses after the solstice.

Winter is my least favorite season. Winter may bring bitterly cold weather, icing conditions and occasionally, loss of electricity and frozen water. I dislike these situations. Winter may also bring some things I like:
•  Pretty snows that don’t stay around.

•  Lazy days to read and cook.

•  Seeing kids watch the school polar reports.

•  Watching my grandchildren play outside in the snow.

•  A warm heater or fireplace on a cold day.

People vary in their opinions about winter. Some thoughts are represented below:
•  Winter is the season in which people try to keep the house as warm as it was in the summer, when they complained about the heat. –Author unknown

•  I like these cold, gray winter days. Days like these let you savor a bad mood. –Bill Watterson
 
•  There are only two seasons - winter and baseball. –Bill Veeck

•  You can't get too much winter, in the winter. –Robert Frost

•  Winter either bites with its teeth or lashes with its tail. –Proverb

•  During winter, I mentally prepare myself to step out of the shower. –Author unknown

•  Every mile is two in winter. –George Herbert

•  The problem with winter sports is that – follow me closely here – they generally take place in winter. –Dave Barry

•  Hot coffee and cold winter mornings are two of the best soul mates who ever did find each other. –Terri Guillemets

•  Perhaps I am a bear, or some hibernating animal underneath, for the instinct to be half asleep all winter is so strong in me. –Anne Morrow Lindbergh

When my late husband was young, one of his winter activities was cutting fire wood. For years, we used the wood-burning heater in our house. My husband loved winter and enjoyed being outside in brisk weather. When cutting wood, I believe he liked the solitude, liked providing for our family, and liked taking his dog with him. (But, he was always happy for me to help him load and unload the wood.) As a young man, he didn’t seem to mind the cold, and his favorite season was winter.

Winter will officially arrive on December 21st, and I’m ready: I have stockpiled books and hot tea and cocoa mixes. I don’t know what this winter will bring, but I reassure myself that it only lasts for 12 weeks.