Winter is Here! (Or is it?)

"Is it winter yet?"

That's the question my six-year-old daughter has been asking me first thing every morning for the past two weeks, as she sleepily peers out her frosted window in her footsie pajamas.

To any logical person with pretty good eyesight, it would seem that the answer would be, "Most definitely, yes! It is winter!" There's a half-foot of snow on the ground (and four more inches expected tomorrow), icicles glittering on the branches, deer footprints dotting the hill in front of our house. Every time even the lightest wind blows, ice crystals clatter down from the trees like shards of glass. It looks like a hundred thousand wine goblets have shattered on our driveway.

Yes, it certainly looks, feels, smells, sounds, and tastes like winter out there. So far this month, the kids have had a Snow Day from school, gone sledding, made snowcones, sipped hot cocoa, sat by a roaring fire, and marveled at the Christmas decorations around the neighborhood. And yet, according to the calendar, winter doesn't officially begin here until 12:11 p.m. EST on December 21, when the solstice occurs. So it's...um...still fall? Alrighty then, tell it to the thermometer, which is edging down into the teens today.

My toes don't like this "autumn in a masterful disguise" and my ears aren't so happy about it either. But my goodness, with all of the sparkling snow, glittering ice, and a fresh coat of clean, white paint on this neck of the woods, it's amazingly pretty out there. No question about that.

Your turn: What's the prettiest thing you've seen this season? Please share in the Comments section below. If you are reading this post via email subscription or mobile device, click on the title or go to www.JoyfullyGreen.com from a computer to see the comments and leave one of your own. (Don't forget to click the box for subscribing to comments so you can follow the conversation.)

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