winter i find a calming season !

Having had my fair share of snow shoveling and driving on black ice, I much prefer mild So Cal winters.

Like most people in the southwestern US, during wintertime when I have a hankering to be in snow or cold weather, I'm able to drive to it in less than three hours. Or to the beach in half an hour.
 
I'm liking winter less and less as I age (just turned 69). But it's more because of how I live -- I heat with wood in the fall and spring, and then coal in coldest several months in between. I used to cut my own firewood but I buy it now instead.

I haul the coal in my pickup, about 1,500 pounds per trip; I make probably four trips over the season. Once I get home I have to shovel it off into a bin. Then carry buckets in every day or two, and empty ashes about as often. It's getting old. I had central heat installed in 2010 (propane) but I rarely use it because it would cost a fortune to keep it as warm as I do with wood/coal. I hate a chilly house.

The upsides: My diet changes radically in the cold weather, getting into more comfort foods. I love to spend hours in the kitchen on the weekends during the winter.

And then the fall chill brings NFL football, which lasts all winter. It's the only TV sport I watch. If it was on during warm weather I would never watch it, as I'm outside most of the time.

And of course the change of scenery from season to season is nice.

My front yard in the fall:


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Same spot on a cold winter morning:

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Another pik of the same spot from my post on page 1:


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I was born and raised in Massachusetts. When I was in the US Navy, I was stationed in Guantanamo, Cuba. There, the weather never changed 80+ in the day, 70 at night. It didn't really matter if it was June or Dec. It was ideal. I hated it it. I missed the seasons changing. I missed the leaves falling. I even missed the blankety blank snow. It's not Xmas when you put up your tree ,wearing shorts.
 

Nice pik, RR. I hope you didn't take that today!
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yes I moan like most people if it gets very cold ' but I dont mind winter really' I find it a calm season -people dont seem so
chaotic' and going at a slower pace' love the fires and smell of wood burning from the chimneys when out walking ' like the idea of fallen snow crunching under foot ' and heavy misty mornings - as it seems to deaden noise...…….but it can cause chaos on the roads too...always liked it even as a kid - this is just about winter nothing else --do u cope ok with it ?
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I find it calming too Toffee. Here's a picture I took while walking alone in a wooded area on Christmas Day in 2011, wonderful feeling. Although I have to say my very favorite season is probably fall.

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I find it calming too Toffee. Here's a picture I took while walking alone in a wooded area on Christmas Day in 2011, wonderful feeling. Although I have to say my very favorite season is probably fall.

Gorgeous shot, SB. Was this taken near your home? I do miss the sound-muting silence that snowfall brings.
 

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