The Reindeer Keeper

Winter brings a stillness and beauty all its own. Early morning, deep-purple skies against the lacey frost cover of a new day leave me speechless as do snowladen trees and drifts so high they make you wish you were a kid again. In stark contrast, winter brings a harshness that dares you to survive. White-outs; frozen pipes; sub-zero temperatures that make the house crack; power outages; cars that won't start; highways turned ice rinks; school closings that ruin morning's routine and a mother's patience; cancelled flights; runny noses; and boots that really don't keep your feet warm. Old Man Winter keeps it coming; teasing us with sunrises and sunsets that are a photographer's dream while bringing us to the point of despair-almost. Whenever it seems that winter is winning the battle I remember what my grandparents and their six daughters endured in winter's grip-back when winter was winter. They certainly had more snow; drifts so high they reached the top of ...

January has always been my favorite month. Yes, I'm serious-my most favorite month and the older I get the more favorite it becomes. There's no single reason why. When I was younger I'm sure it had lots to do with digging into all those Christmas presents just received even though the vacation ended and the school bus was rolling again. Didn't it seem back then that it'd been forever since you'd seen your classmates? After all, it'd been since the year before! Remember how everyone was wearing brand new clothes even if they didn't quite fit? Included in all the loot my cousins and I'd collected Christmas morning, there most always was something for playing outdoors. Not that we needed toys or props. The outdoors was our year-round playground all on its own. Winter was the best season. Back hills became Olympic mountains perfect for wooden skiis with wooden poles. Simple skiis that you slipped your snow boot into-the front of a boot fitting into a s...