Enjoying the Beauty of Winter

I was dreading winter.  The spring and summer were just so beautiful and easy (no wrestling small children into coats, mittens and hats) that I didn't want to give them up.  Autumn stayed warm late, too.  But now that the snow has fallen, we're past the Solstice and the sun shines bright through my south and west windows, I am enjoying winter.  Even in the sub-zero cold, I bundled up and blissfully listened to the unique creaking of the snow beneath my feet....the sound that snow only makes when it is bitterly cold out.