December 8, 2002
Winter came early this year. We’ve already had several sub-zero temperature readings and 20 inches of snowfall according to my backwoods measuring methods. (which consists of sticking a tape-measure into the snow until it hits something solid!) The road to our cabin closed for the season on November 17th, so Linda and I have been skiing back and forth for a couple of weeks now. When people ask if we’ve done much skiing lately, we find it helpful to differentiate between recreational skiing and commuter skiing. Even though we’re only a half-mile in from US Route 1, it may as well be 10 miles when it comes to the psychic distance or sense of solitude that it creates. We just didn’t expect our solitude to arrive quite so soon! One of Linda’s favorite weather sayings of late, “cold is cold…”
cold 1 The quiet of december reclines unnoticed in the frozen north country stillness settles upon stillness cold 2 in the cold dark nights of winter the thermometer plummets and nature's dreams are formed