It has been a really weird winter.  Snow in October, temperatures in the forties and fifties throughout December and January...very weird.  And then, finally, winter hit with a vengeance in the form of a weekend ice storm that broke trees, downed power lines, and left our deck slippery enough to cause trouble for the poor dogs.  Monday saw many schools and businesses closed due to power outages and downed trees.  Even Jon got the day off because his office was one of those without power, and today his bosses moved operations to their institute location, as the power likely won't be restored until tomorrow or Thursday.  But, and this is easy for us to say since our power is on after only a brief interruption, everything sure is beautiful with a fine covering of shining ice, and the air seems so fresh when it is crisp and cold, with the sun shining brightly, albeit very coldly, all afternoon.

And Calvin must have really loved the day, too, because he and his mother had a long conversation about it at dinner:  Calvin "huh, huh, huh,"  (that was fun being out in the cold today) Cortney, "huh, huh, huh" (for you maybe, you were covered up), Calvin "mmmmm," (I like to watch the snow out the car window), Cortney, "mmmMmm" (you should have been sleeping instead), Calvin "aahmmm" (more squash please), Cortney "AAhmmM" (eat what's on your face first)...and so on.  You get the idea.  They conversed like that for upwards of two minutes, which had Jon laughing nearly to the point of tears.  This is the first time that Calvin has really seemed to talk to us, or to mimic in any way.  It was a beautiful conversation!