It has been a long, hard, cold winter...again. Another year of the 'polar vortex' phenomenon that has dipped down through North America, from the Siberian region, to bring unseasonable and prolonged cold to parts of Canada and the US. Snow up to the thighs, or higher. Roads encrusted with ice runnels that made driving feel as if you were guiding a 4-wheeler over rocks.

Finally, this week, a bit of a reprieve; a few degrees above zero, enough to allow the gradually-strengthening sun to begin a melting period. For the first time in months, puddles run along edges of roadway and a hint of sodden grass peeks out from the edges of snow banks.

I have been sorely absent from the blog for the last few months; work, writing, other activities, and generally, the apathy of winter weather. There's something to be said when a December day grows dark by 3 PM; when twilight hits well before the supper hour. The melatonin in the brain instantly says' yawn, must be nearing bed time' despite the body's insistence that it must stay awake and alert another five hours, so that by the time 9 PM rolls around, it feels more like 1 AM. 

I am, like many others, shaking off the winter ennui and apathy and leaning towards the sun like a well-trained sunflower.

Did watch quite a few good films over the winter. Here are couple to consider, if you enjoy good dramas: Tracks, The Station Agent.