When it’s winter in the Keweenaw, it’s always best to look on the positive side, which is what Barbara Bouwkamp was doing in today’s first photo. She said that the snow was not too deep in her Laurium yard yet and at least we don’t have to mow the grass. That’s one way of looking at all the snow we’ve gotten so far. Another way Barbara gets through the winter months, is by taking walks in her Laurium neighborhood. She likes to call it a walkabout, which she recently took with her hubby, Tom and their four-legged friend, Willow. That second photo shows how narrow the streets begin to get when we keep getting winter storm, after winter storm, with little break between them. The village doesn’t get a chance to get out there with the snogo to cut back the snowbanks and widen the side streets.

Barbara’s third photo is of the George Gipp Arena, which she said had no one around this day, because the Zamboni that cleans and smooths the ice had broken down, so there was no public skating, hockey or figure skating. The remaining two photos are the new Village Garage construction. Recall that a year ago in February, the Village Garage burned in an early morning fire. They hope to have the new construction completed in June of this year. In the meantime though, the village has replaced enough public works equipment and machinery to be fully operational this winter. Nice to see progress happening for the Laurium village.

Since we’re on the subject of winter, today’s video from Psychology Simplified, delves into why some people love winter and dislike summer. The lead-in says: “In this video, we explore the psychology of people who prefer winter over summer, uncovering the personality traits, emotional patterns, and psychological factors behind cold-weather preference.” I’m not sure I prefer winter and cold, but I do enjoy staying home wrapped up in a blanket all cozy and warm.

I like winter, esp since I am stuck inside and
don't have to deal with it...

I never felt antisocial
about Winter, I just
don’t like freezing my
chugs off.
But when in Rome…

Hi
Nice pictures as always. And having a dog who
needs a walk is a good way to have tolerance for
different weather.

I watched a little bit of the video but then it
seemed to be veering off from what I experience. I
like winter and summer, because I look forward to
doing fun stuff (skiing and swimming) in both. I
don't look forward to staying indoors in winter.
The only weather that I give myself guilt-free
permission to veg out is pouring rain/freezing
rain.

I like winter. I don't like THIS much winter, lol.
But when out shoveling, I just dress for the
weather and I don't freeze, except for my
fingertips. You have to be careful for frostbite,
though. Way to brave it, Barb.

Now that's the Copper Country I remember oh so well.

Hi
I like to look at posts from previous years. I found
this one from January 25, 2020 that I think is a
fairer, more practical, response to winter for those
of us in northern climes:
“If you choose not to find joy in the snow, you
will have less joy in your life, but still the same
amount of snow”.

I've seen that saying quite often, Kathryn. It's
very true. For some people, though, winter is a
time to do other things that bring them joy, like
crafts or reading, catching up on movies they
wanted to see, etc. Those are things they maybe
don't want to do during the other seasons because
they want to be outside more. Just another way to
look at it. It's not the snow that I don't like as
much as the frigid temps. I totally enjoy being
outside with big flakes coming down and temps in
the teens and up. But this before zero stuff is
definitely TV time for me. That is, after we've
finished clearing the snow away, lol.

Well said Deb!

I agree, Deb, winter's my time for catching up on some reading.
For Christmas, I received a book I've been wanting to peruse for some time. It's titled The Creature From Jekyll Island and is a wonderful expose about how the Federal Reserve came about (it's truly nasty). It was a revelation to discover that it's neither Federal nor has any Reserves. It's quite a long read, but very well presented. You'll never think about money, currency, loans (and politicians and bankers) the same way again. Highly recommended!

Hi
I understand that some people---and even me,
currently, full of Sunday dinner---prefer to hang
out inside. What I thought I was hearing from the
video is that it was not possible to actually like
winter (without being derranged/deluded). I didn't
watch all the way to the end, so maybe I don't have
the full picture.

Sorry if I over-reacted. I appreciate all you guys.

I don't think you overreacted, Kathryn. I've seen
that many times and it is true in a sense. I was
just saying that some people find other reasons to
be joyful during the winter. Imagine if we lived in
a climate that was warm all year. There'd be no
time to do our indoor pleasures, lol. We'd always
want to be outside. Reading a book wrapped in a
blanket can be very joyful. And I love sitting here
watching the snow fall. I also admit to enjoying
sledding with my grandchildren. Winter makes us so
frustrated, but it also gives us its own joy. I'm
glad you mentioned that. It made me think about all
the joys of winter.