Winter - No Wonderland

Winter is here, I know - my hands and feet are turning white especially when I'm outdoors. My home is cold (conserving oil)so they get white indoors too. The only time I'm comfortable is after I'm in bed for about a half hour and have begun to warm up. I think an electric blanket might be in my future. I don't want to be a complainer, but winter brings out the worst in me. Despite all that, I do bundle up and take one of my cats outdoors for a romp almost everyday. He doesn't mind the cold and loves to be outside. He has a tantrum when I bring him in after 15-20 minutes. He also waits for an opportunity to sneak out whenever the door is opened. Someday he'll trip me, and I'll break an arm or a leg or drop a dozen eggs all over the place. Then there's snow: wet, cold, sticky, slippery, miserable snow. We shovel, we sand, we use kitty litter but it still melts a little in the sun and freezes after dark, and in the morning the stairs, driveway, and roads are perilous. The high winds will blow you down the street, mess up your hair and chill you to the bones. At night when it freezes again the lids on trash cans become frozen tight and sometimes car doors freeze shut. If the snowfall is heavy and wet it can be very difficult to shovel and remove. Then there's the time after the snow - in a few days it becomes dirty, Is there any good in all this? Well, freshly fallen snow is beautiful especially at night. The moon shines on it on the ground and on leafless trees giving everything a mystical appearance. The little kids like snow to play in, and those a bit older like it because school is usually canceled for safety reasons (giving them an extra day to get that report done, or study for a test). Snow falling on a night with a full moon (or 3 quarters)looks erie and amazing as the moon or street light catch the snowflakes en route to the earth. Of course scientists tell us that no 2 snowflakes are alike, but I don't know how they could prove that. I read an article about it once, but I didn't really understand all of it and retained even less. Icicles are also pretty amazing as they form along the edges of houses, trees, power lines, tall buildings etc. Another thing that happens is that the air during and after a snowfall seems so fresh and clean as though dust, germs, pollutants and odors have been washed away by the snow. Sometimes the snow appears to have a slight bluish tint at night (a little bit even in the daytime too)gleaming and sparkling. But no matter how beautiful it might appear, if there is way too much 10-12 inches it's just overwhelming when trying to clean it up and if it's a wet snow it can be so heavy that some roofs will collapse or be damaged, most likely older roofs. Then it becomes dangerous and expensive to repair. I'm sure there are many more positive and negative comments that could be made, but this is all I can think of this evening. Feel free to leave comments and let me know what I've missed.