At the Back of the North Wind ...

There is something truly, breathtakingly exhilarating about winter winds.

Though these cold blowing breezes may sting your toes and bite your nose as over the ground you go (to Grandfather's house, of course), I tend to take Shakespeare's view of things (at least the part about letting that ol' winter wind blow):

Blow, blow, thou winter wind,
Thou art not so unkind
As man's ingratitude;
Thy tooth is not so keen
Because thou art not seen,
Although thy breath be rude.
Heigh-ho! sing heigh-ho! unto the green holly:
Most friendship is feigning, most loving mere folly:
Then, heigh-ho! the holly!
This life is most jolly.

In all honestly, I love to feel the chill air ... to let the northern breeze gust around me. At those moments, I feel wonderfully, truly alive and connected to the world. It's just so rare to be able to experience such a sensory explosion.

And that, my friends, is one of the reasons I love Winter!