wintertime is here...

the snowman has replaced the scarecrow as the guardian of the porch door. driving home from town, the canadian cascades had just a tiny bit of golden light gilding their peaks... yes, you are looking into canada from my road home from town. i lightened this picture up a bit so the details were easier to see but, DANG, it was a dark and gloomy day! the sky was leaden. the clouds spit a bit of rain on my windshield as i was driving home, but no snow... noticed my party lights are still on?! i need as much light as i can get! my cottage with the christmas tree in the window.. oh yes! i drag my feet for as long as i can before i take down the tree! here is the sun going down at about 4pm. that is so wrong! can't wait for the days to hurry up and lengthen again! it seemed to get above freezing today. like i said, it rained and didn't turn into snow, but here the cats and i were... standing on a frozen mud puddle. the days' last bit of light...one last burst of an effort to roll back the clouds... no last rosy glow for the bohemian mountains... just cloud and cold and the chill of nighttime falling... i am so thankful for the glow of my christmas lights, and for the memory of sunstruck days of spring and summer. because, for all the chill, life is very, very good.