Observations on a raw winter day

Winter doesn't officially start until Dec. 21, but Mother Nature sure fooled me.

Fresh snow looks beautiful as long as you can view it from a distance or from behind the window of a warm home.

At the moment, I would say the snowplow is one of man's greatest inventions. Close behind is the snowblower.

Would you rather have another foot of snow and temperatures in the 20s or no more snow and temperatures below zero?

No school.

If it's zero degrees out today and will be twice as cold tomorrow, how cold is that?

Dec. 11 is too early to be wishing winter would end. We haven't even had a white Christmas.

“To shorten winter, borrow some money due in spring.” - W.J. Vogel

Blizzard has to be one of the most effective words ever spoken. Just hearing that hard “Z” sound can have you reaching for a blanket.

Windrows of snow in the middle of downtown Cedar Rapids streets just don't seem natural.

The crunch of snow under foot is winter's version of running barefoot in the park.

On a hot day in July, someone said you'll be wishing for warm weather come December.

Nothing like cold weather and a car that won't start to remind you that procrastination doesn't get the battery replaced.

Oh, to be a Husky happily hopping like a rabbit through the snowdrifts. That's a dog's life, too.

Feed the birds.

Clean off your car's headlights and turn them on when driving in the snow so I can see you.

Shoe skating on ice is fun when you're 8, not when you're 80.

Make someone's day and help shovel her walk.

I-380 never looked as empty as it did Wednesday morning coming to work. People stayed home if they could.

How about a hand for the garbage collectors who made their rounds in Cedar Rapids? Same for newspaper carriers, mail carriers and the like.

Hot chocolate and marshmallows.

Hope you've put up your outside Christmas lights.

It's better to arrive late and in one piece than to not arrive at all.

A toboggan ride really wouldn't be as much fun if you didn't have to climb to the top of the hill first.

A fire in the fireplace.

The days are short, the nights are long, weathering winter makes you strong.

I'd rather have a driveway to shovel than no driveway at all.

Curling up with a good book trumps anything on Television.

“Winter is on my head, but eternal spring is in my heart.” - Victor Hugo

Winter doesn't officially start until Dec. 21, but Mother Nature sure fooled me.

Fresh snow looks beautiful as long as you can view it from a distance or from behind the window of a warm home.

At the moment, I would say the snowplow is one of man's greatest inventions. Close behind is the snowblower.

Would you rather have another foot of snow and temperatures in the 20s or no more snow and temperatures below zero?

No school.

If it's zero degrees out today and will be twice as cold tomorrow, how cold is that?

Dec. 11 is too early to be wishing winter would end. We haven't even had a white Christmas.

“To shorten winter, borrow some money due in spring.” - W.J. Vogel

Blizzard has to be one of the most effective words ever spoken. Just hearing that hard “Z” sound can have you reaching for a blanket.

Windrows of snow in the middle of downtown Cedar Rapids streets just don't seem natural.

The crunch of snow under foot is winter's version of running barefoot in the park.

On a hot day in July, someone said you'll be wishing for warm weather come December.

Nothing like cold weather and a car that won't start to remind you that procrastination doesn't get the battery replaced.

Oh, to be a Husky happily hopping like a rabbit through the snowdrifts. That's a dog's life, too.

Feed the birds.

Clean off your car's headlights and turn them on when driving in the snow so I can see you.

Shoe skating on ice is fun when you're 8, not when you're 80.

Make someone's day and help shovel her walk.

I-380 never looked as empty as it did Wednesday morning coming to work. People stayed home if they could.

How about a hand for the garbage collectors who made their rounds in Cedar Rapids? Same for newspaper carriers, mail carriers and the like.

Hot chocolate and marshmallows.

Hope you've put up your outside Christmas lights.

It's better to arrive late and in one piece than to not arrive at all.

A toboggan ride really wouldn't be as much fun if you didn't have to climb to the top of the hill first.

A fire in the fireplace.

The days are short, the nights are long, weathering winter makes you strong.

I'd rather have a driveway to shovel than no driveway at all.

Curling up with a good book trumps anything on Television.

“Winter is on my head, but eternal spring is in my heart.” - Victor Hugo