Hooray For a Sunny Day

I know many parts of the country have been experiencing quite a snowy winter.  Montana is certainly seeing its fair share of the white stuff, I assure you.  A lot has melted in the last few days, but I feel I've shoveled more in the past five weeks than in several winters put together.  My new neighbor across the street has been kind enough to plow my driveway and my sidewalk on more than one occasion because that's just the kind of guy he is.  I wish I could tell you that this has prevented me from whining about all of the snow.  Alas, it has not. 

I have always loved winter.  As a kid I would play outside for hours, bumbling around in my hand-me-down snowmobile suit, sledding down whatever small hill I could find in our yard.  I love to cross-country ski.  I spent two winters at the Geographic South Pole, for heaven's sake.  It's safe to say I am a fan of cold weather and snow.  But something about this winter has been sort of looming over me.  I figured out today what that is.  It has been a rather grey season.  In my experience, winters in MT are usually quite sunny.  When it's 10 degrees outside and the sun is shining, I feel comfortable without a hat and wearing only a few layers.  Back east where I grew up, 10 degrees is painful.  Damp to the bone kind of cold.  Today the tide has turned.  It is sunny and warm.  Blue skies and some clouds here and there, but mostly sunny.  I feel like singing.  I even found myself humming in the grocery store this morning after a marvelous cup of tea and a walk.  There is a short trail not far from my home that borders a marshy area with a few small ponds.  In past jaunts I've seen a fox, muskrats, mule deer, magpies, rabbits, ravens, Canada geese, all manner of songbirds and in the hotter months, snakes.  Today it was just me and the honking geese, but it was a lovely walk all the same. 

Willow-edged marsh and snow-covered mountains

Also this morning, I stopped by one of the local thrift shops and came home with a piece of china and some colorful lace.  These shops can be dangerous for me - as are garage sales.  And flea markets.  And antique shops.  You get the idea.  I shop in places like this all over the country and in other countries, for that matter.  A good bargain for something I will use and savor is hard to pass up although the joy is often solely in the looking.  A good time can be had without making a single purchase.  Does that make me weird?  Hope not.  

Ooh...what to do with these pretties?