midwinter

i find february to be a tough month to get through some years. in boulder, february feels like midwinter as we know we've still got quite a ways to go before we are comfortable announcing - spring is here. we expect snowstorms to begin in october and are hesitant to expect them finished before mid-may. some years winter seems v-e-e-r-r-y l-o-o-o-o-ng.

we boast 300 blue sky days a year around here so winter certainly isn't dark and dreary (and whoa....there is nothing like having a full-blown snowstorm followed by a clear, sunshiny day to exquisitely define the words: gorgeous, breathtaking, beautiful, magnificent) but through the years, i have learned winter boost tricks to help me through these often lengthy, cold months. tips that not only keep me going but now have me looking forward to this season and its unique gifts. here are a few:

- fresh flowers

i love bringing home a bunch or two each week often setting them near a window as a foil to the wintry scene outside. the colors, as well as the blooms' subtle fresh scent, add to the uplifting experience. tulips especially bring me hope and remembrance of spring. 

- eucalyptus in the shower

this is a pick-me-up for sure. hang a bunch from the shower head, i pick them up from trader joe's, which when mixed with the hot steam releases its distinctive minty sweet aroma. for me, eucalypt's scent transports me straight back to our years living in australia and the sydney beach life style we savored there. always an uplifting memory. it reminds me too that it is summer down under in february - so summer is happening somewhere in the world! btw, paul is in australia and new zealand at the moment, sending me sunny, warm vibes and photos too.

- winter hikes

this is the best! bundling up head to toe and trekking out either in my sorel boots, snowshoes or cross-country skis is a workout unique to winter. paul and i hike together fridays at lunchtime throughout the year no matter the weather and i think winter snow hikes are my favorite. it's so quiet and peaceful and absolutely breathtaking. trudging through the snow makes it a workout hike like no other time of the year!

- books

my bedside table pile of books always is deepest during the winter months. the short days gift long nights filled with cozy hours of reading. a friend recently gave me a book of nature poems, one for each night of the year. the winter verses immerse me in this season's snowflaked, snowdrifted, blizzardy, candlelit beauty, nature's hibernating season.

- green plants

my house plants are present all through the year but i seem to appreciate and notice them more in the winter as their shades of green seem brighter against the dull or monochrome white scenes outside. they are happy, alive and vibrant while their garden and forest relatives sleep peacefully outside. 

- lights and candles

at dusk, i make sure the foyer light is on as paul will be home soon. there is no welcome home better than a light in the window. candles on the mantle are lit and when we eat at the dining room table, candlelight adds to the cozy dinner bowls of soup or stew. my winter bath soaks are accompanied by candles on the window sill as opposed to summer baths when the evenings skies are still bright. 

-puzzles

i enjoy a good puzzle challenge through the winter. a mindless yet focused exercise. i've had the puzzle in the photo above, Games We Played, going since christmas splayed out at one end of our dining room table. it's definitely a winter pastime, i don't think i would even think of getting a puzzle going in the summer. not sure why? hmmm. some days i won't sit down at the puzzle at all and other days i will be engrossed for a couple of hours determined to finish as much as possible. paul is not a puzzle guy - too frustrating, i want to finish it in one go or else the puzzle would win and i would lose! but i like them and look forward to this annual winter pastime.

- winter sunrise

to be outside for a winter sunrise is something special. last week, early valentine's day morning, i did just that. after pulling on my boots, i bundled up, grabbed my camera and headed outside and down the property to the stream tromping through the fresh and deep snow to capture the magical sunrise moment when the mountains turn pink. it's a winter wonderland spectacle. i was a bit early that morning so i carefully crossed the icy stream and climbed up the bank to the fields before the foothills to the west. i discovered animal tracks in the snow, crystal icicle formations and then looked up to see hints of sunrise coloring the clouds. i just stood there, patiently, as nature's time slowly revealed the magic of a winter's pastel morning.

Winter is the 

season of 

recovery and preparation.

                                    - Paul Theroux