Chillin' Like a Villain

See that big goose egg in the bottom left of the image? That was last night's low. Or is it tonight's? No matter. It's been cold here the past couple days. Farther inland they've been having a windchill advisory, but it seems to have missed us.

After we moved out here, we'd tell people how excited we were to be living in Maine. Since they knew we'd moved here from California and that we grew up in the South, they warned us, "You'll be changing your tune once winter comes and you're digging your car out of the snow."

My insistence that we actually love cold weather was usually met with skepticism. And when I'd respond by pointing out that Southerners are naturally tough and that's why it was a scientific fact that Johnny Reb could whoop ten Billy Yanks in the War between the States and don't you even try to deny it or we'll rise up again and give you Federalists another shellackin'...well, that's usually been met with stares of puzzlement and disbelief.

But I'm happy to report that we're now about halfway through the winter, and Watoosa and I both love it. We've had an unusually large amount of snow this season (several feet, in fact) and lots of days below freezing. The snow does tend to make things a bit messy, but I still get a charge out of watching it fall and cover everything. The drive to campus (and the view of Sebago Lake and the White Mountains) is especially beautiful after a good snowstorm. Digging the cars out hasn't been a problem except for one night, and even then I was able to use a neighbor's snowblower, which was actually fun (I'm going to have to get one when we get a driveway). And I take an almost perverse pleasure in seeing how low the temps can get; I'm hoping for a day when the highs stay in the single digits, just to say I saw it.

So all the doubters can rest assured. Old Man Winter can keep on trying to freeze us out, but we're not going anywhere. Mother Nature can do her very worst, and we'll take it with a smile.

Unless we lose power. Then we're screwed.