In the bleak mid-winter

Happy Groundhog Day!  (I was really clever this year - I bought a roll of stamps a week ago when they were only 46 cents, and saved a bundle when I sent my Groundhog Day greeting cards.)  Now how does it work - if it's sunny on Groundhog Day, we have 6 more weeks of winter?  D'oh!

I love living in a place where we see four seasons... but I'd gladly surrender two months of winter for one more month each of spring and autumn.  I'm ready for spring now.

On the bright side... the sun has finally come out the last couple days.  If it's not gonna snow, it might as well shine.  (What we really need in these parts is another 6 weeks with a lot of moisture, at least up in the mountains where our summer water supply is stored.  If not, we're going to have a dry summer.  Don't buy a ski boat this year!)

The last couple years during the "winter layover," when I don't stop riding but my mileage is down in a meaningful way... I always wonder if I'll be able to answer the bell this year.  I've gone on a couple 20-mile rides in the last week or so, and it surprises me how quickly that starts seeming like a considerable distance.  But... I anticipate that once I'm back in the groove, riding that much regularly, it won't seem a bit daunting like it does now.

I went on my second ride with both granddaughters yesterday; all three of us enjoyed ourselves.  In my mind's eye I'm already envisioning summer Greenbelt adventures and such.

Here are a few photos I've snapped over the past month...