One house lit up across the lake now. There are not many people still here. It’s quiet.

If it wasn’t so windy, there would be much more ice on the lake. It’s cold out this morning. 12 degrees and blowing.

Time to pack my bags and head south. (night cat tote shown)

You know that feeling: it’s time.

My driveway has been too icy for me to be here so far from… well, cell phone reception outside my home. And there are matters to attend to elsewhere. Pulling me away.

I’ll miss the dance of wildlife here.

But I remember coming almost face to face with a bear last spring in Connecticut. It wasn’t the mother bear (whose huge paws left prints to let me know she was roaming), it was maybe an adolescent bear – as surprised to see me and Peaches as I was to see that face peering at me through the bushes, all of 10 feet away. We retreated…

Hopefully the bears are all asleep now. Connecticut is warmer than here. But in winter, they know to rest.

And wait til spring.

We all know, spring will come, right? And winter offers it’s own solace. It’s own blessings.