Winter

It's the day before Halloween, and earlier this week, it was in the high 70s - warm enough that I had windows and doors open and was spotted wearing a tank top with my cargo pants while Colden and I ran around the backyard in the autumn sunshine.

Today, though, it's cold. It was raining in Jay when I left for Lake Placid, and as I approached Whiteface, I saw that it was capped with snow. There's snow on the ground in Lake Placid, and most of the rooftops are covered, too. The cars sitting idle at the gas station have snow collected at the base of their windshields.

So, it's winter.

And while some people might despair that the warm weather is gone for another seven or eight months, I'm actually okay with that. Yes, I love the warm mornings and the smell of the breeze coming through the windows in the house, but I also love the cold. I love the warmth of a fire in the wood stove. I love a steaming hot bowl of butternut squash and apple soup, and I love the feeling of snuggling down under a fleece blanket at night.

I think I actually need the cold. I don't feel complete without it. I've been to warmer climates during the winter months - places like Houston and Los Angeles - and it's always left me feeling off-balance until I get home to where it's cold.

Some days, I feel like I wrap that cold around me like a cocoon to comfort me. It gives me a reason to spend time with family and friends. It gives me inspiration to find color in the grey, rainy afternoons.

And when it snows, well, that's just magic. Seeing the world on a bright, sunny winter morning after a snowstorm is just pure magic.

I don't think I could live in a place without being able to really see the changing seasons. Being able to watch the world changing around me gives me a real sense of place, and it makes me feel like I'm really a part of this Earth.