Bleak Midwinter

I remember the Christmas carol that begins, "In the bleak midwinter." The lyrics were a poem written by Christina Rossetti.

But Christmas was only the beginning of Winter.

The bleak midwinter is actually now. The third of February was the exact middle of the Winter season.

This time of the year can be pretty bleak. In Northern California the strong winds and huge amounts of precipitation have caused a lot of damage.

And I'm glad not to live in places like Louisiana where the weather has been even more dangerous.

Of course other parts of the world have different weather. In Australia it's now midsummer!

But, no matter what kind of weather is happening, people will complain about it.

Since I haven't had my home destroyed or any other serious damage caused by the weather I intend to enjoy it as much as possible.

If the power goes out I can sit in front of the fireplace and read a book by lantern light. 

And I'm grateful that the water will restore life where years of drought have killed plants and trees.

How do you cope with the bleak midwinter?