Beautiful February Days

On the way back into town, I stopped at one of my favorite lakes to check out the status of the ice. It has been so beautiful out the last couple of days, today included. Hardly a cloud in the sky, only a slight breeze. Without any wind, you could literally fish out on the ice in only short sleeves.

I don't know what it is about the U.P. and the kind of stars that you can see at night, but I swear the only other places that I've lived that can compare to the night sky and the amount of stars would be Maui and Utah. We live so far out of town and away from any sort of "city" lights, it is pitch black out. With the cold, crisp air at night and all the stars, it is such a tranquil feeling. I think after throwing snow at night and how loud that is, the quiet and peacefulness is compounded after I'm done because of huge sensory experience of the snow thrower . . . then all is quiet, dark, and cold. It is hard to explain. Almost like being in a sensory deprivation tank, but with a dark night sky full of an unbelievable amount of stars. All I can hear is the sound of my own heart pounding because of the work involved in clearing snow out of our 150' driveway. I love this time of year, I suppose from the experience of being out in the cold, dark nights . . .