Thank you for a beautiful read, for the delightfully sweet and descriptive images of snow and winter and all the good bits. I agree about all of them.

And I certainly agree with the concept of withdrawing for the winter months. It is what we should be doing naturally anyway, but life demands that we keep working to pay the bills that accumulate through those months. If left to the rhythm of our bodies, though, we would be going inward as you suggest. It is the natural order of things.

AND - I DETEST the cold. You can dress for it to an extent but when it's -40° with a wind chill in the -50s, it's pretty horrible. Even with thick socks and good boots, it doesn't take long for toes and fingers to start to burn, for cheeks to freeze, and even if you cover your whole face except your eyes, then your nose runs into the covering and your eyes burn and water from the cold.

There is nothing fun about digging out a car from under a foot snow and then chiselling away at really STUCK ice that just won't budge without monumental effort and sweating in all those layers - which then makes you feel sticky and uncomfortable.

I rented a room from a lady who was super cheap about the heating so in winter, it was only on for a few hours a day. The rest of the time, I was so cold sometimes I was in tears. I wore three pair of socks, had leggings under my thick fleece pj bottoms, a thick throw on my lap, four layers on my top half, and was so bulky and uncomfortable it was horrible to get through the day. And my hands were like blocks of ice, it was horrible to try to type anything, and my job as a writer and editor could not be ignored.

There was nothing else I could do to warm up and it was awful awful awful living with all those uncomfortable layers and SITLL I was cold. My feet were still burning with cold.

Mostly, I resorted to sitting in my bed covered with the duvet all day, then I had to sleep there, too. It was a horrible way to live.

I also detest heat and humidity! So I'm not happy with either extreme!

And the dark - OHHHH, I LOVE THE DARK!! I'm sad because it just starts to get good and then it's Winter Solstice and dang! The Sun starts to return, the days are already getting longer. Waaaaah!!!! I love the late darkness in the morning and early darkness in the afternoon!! My happy place!!!

Thanks so much for sharing this. I do appreciate a beautiful fresh snow, the silence, loving watching big fluffy flakes softly falling against a moonlight backdrop. And staying in by the fire where it's warm and cozy. 💜