We tinker with the generators to make sure they're ready when the inevitable ice storm snaps power lines. The storm windows are retrieved from the garage rafters and pounded into place. We dump heavier-weight oil into our cars and trucks. We pull out the heavy extension cord to plug in our vehicles so that the batteries don't die on frigid winter nights. After the first snowfall in October or November, folks remark how beautiful the flocked oaks look and how the scenery looks so clean.
Kids grab their sleds and snowmobiles and head out into the winter wonderland.
They dream of Christmas morning, when there will be new sleds and hockey skates under the tree. By Jan. 2, the mood changes. The forgotten sleds are buried in 2 feet of snow. Folks now say how ugly and drab it all looks, like something out of an Ingmar Bergman film. The Christmas tree is tossed out the front door top-first into a snowbank.