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Howzis?

No doubt Frost was pleased to be wakened from whatever dread he carried that day, and could even smile how a generous dollop of snow served down his back collar should accomplish so much; but if that crow had pulled the stunt again he’d have found himself in a pie by nightfall.

Everybody loves a horse-drawn sleigh ride over hard packed snow until the rigging snaps and they find themselves miles from home with an empty thermos.

Nothing is more scenic than a fresh, heavy coat of snow on the open fields and weighing down the bows of the pines and hemlocks in the forest. And while you marvel at the beauty you pilot your automobile over a road as slick as glass, a fact you recollect after you find yourself upside down in Mrs. Sweeney’s front yard.

Jack Frost nipping at your nose makes you feel fresh and alive and damn glad the furnace was serviced last week.

The snow, oh the beautiful snow. It covers the ice that silences the brook and disguises from the dog the truth that the aural and visual absence of water doesn’t mean it went away. Which means a frantic dog owner will have to experience a waist high dip to save his beloved pet.

Winter has its merits: it excuses a homeowner from yard work and absolves one from attending boring social events. Otherwise, from November to April, it is one long season of white knuckles and clenched teeth, of drifts and blocked garage doors; and worse: heavy socks, insulated boots, wool sweaters, gloves and a cap, just to fetch the mail.

Nice -- loved the dog bit.

Down here I'm stressed out about not having gotten my pepper plants in the ground yet.

After spending my whole life living in places that don't get snow, I wound up in south eastern Poland teaching English for almost two years. I suppose I saw two winters there, but I only remember the one that provided the occassion for a visit from what people solemnly called a "Siberian Weather Front". I think it got down to somewhere between -25 and 30 C for a week or two.

Maybe that doesn't seem like much to people who live in the northeast, but to me it was as if nature had suddenly turned on me with bared teeth.

The rest of the winter I loved, but this is probably because I did not own a car, public transit was excellent, and I had no pets.

When you have seasons like that it changes the way you live, that's what I never knew; in winter you stay indoors as much as possible and keep warm. It's not just that you have to, you want to. Sitting around your house takes on a whole new meaning when it's that cold outside. I got a ridiculous amount of writing done that year.

Man oh man has Bobby got it bad. That was lovely.

Sorry to tell you but we have cherry blossoms here. Or rather we had the flowers on the bare branches two weeks ago and now the leaves have come in.

On the other hand, we have Arnold Schwarzenegger.

Take your pick.

Bobby, try Biggles in Antarctica.

I found this summary for Biggles Breaks the Silence:

When Biggles heads off Antarctica to recover the gold from the remains of the Starry Crown, little does he know the risks he is taking. The risks posed by shifting icebergs, freezing waters and wild weather are bad enough, without encountering a bunch of thugs who will stop at nothing to make sure Biggles and his men do not return home. This book was republished as "Biggles in the Antarctic".

This doesn't sound like a paean to a winter wonderland.

Bloomin' good read though- I haven't read it since I was 14 but i can still remember the ice smothered boat and the madman inside.
Other snow things you could try: play Harry Nilsson's version of Randy Newman's 'Snow', which contains the memorable rhyme: 'snow, everywhere I go'. I generally think of the cocaine craze in England when I hear it. Stick Doctor Zhivago on the DVD. Watch Scott of the Antarctic with Millsy as Cap'n Scott. Read a Russian novel- I dare say there's some snow in them.

I saw Kenneth Branaugh in Shackleton several weeks back and thought it a good show. That's my kind of snow movie. Snow without the romance, snow the terrible beauty.

Don't get me wrong: I do not yearn for the snake-infested plains of southern Arizona, the tumble-weeded high desert of Colorado, or the alligator country of Florida. I like it here; and, in truth, we've had a mild winter this season (a couple weeks around -10F, less than 200 inches of snowfall). And like people who don't get much snow, I get very much seduced by the snow of November and December. But by March, enough is enough.

By the way, twelve inches fell yesterday.