The Settling in of Winter

Winter is slowly but surely settling in around us. The leaves changed colors and dropped to the ground a little over a month ago. Then a few weeks back we received our first snow. It was not much but it was enough to set the mood for another snowy winter. Fortunately it stayed cold enough to keep the snow around without going through much of a freeze-thaw cycle. We've had a few snows since then which has allowed one of our cross-country ski areas to open up (the area is pampered like a golf course so they only need a hand full of inches to be able to pack the snow for skiing). And the rivers have started to freeze over. The transitions of the rivers from liquid to solid in fall then from solid to liquid in spring are always fun to watch. None of the rivers are frozen enough to go ice skating or skiing on yet, there are still some open spots here and there, but all the rivers have enough ice on them that no one will be putting their boat in the water until spring. Many of the small ponds in the area are completely frozen over and are being used for ice skating. Yet again, another great fall.