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Photo Essay: The few things I like about Winter in Ohio

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This is my first “real” Winter in three years.

I was enjoying the beaches of El Salvador and sweating my ass off in Nicaragua two years ago.

Last year at this time I experienced opposite seasons traveling in Argentina and Chile.  It was cold some days when I was very far south in Patagonia, but there were many warm days and no snow.

This year I sometimes worry my body chemistry has changed, and I may freeze to death.

If you subscribe to my newsletter or follow me on Facebook, you know that I no longer have a two-plus hour round trip bike commute to work.

I ride one mile to get to work now.

Recently, that has been the coldest ten minutes of my life.  More on that another time.

It has been below freezing for quite a while lately, and it makes me jealous of those nomadic wanderers who move with the seasons.

In order to survive the rest of the Winter, I have to remind myself of the things I do like about this cold and often dreary season in Ohio.

Photo Essay: The few things I like about Winter in Ohio

(Christmas lights, fluffy white snow, pie, and reuniting with my snowboard.)

Downtown there is a new (at least, new to me) green space called the Columbus Commons.  They decorate a huge Christmas tree and string lights around all the other trees.  It always made me smile to pass this area.

Ah, the few blue sky and big sun days of Winter.

You know I love to bake Christmas gifts.

Another thing I learned to bake this year is my grandma’s famous banana cream pie.

We don’t get a lot of snow in Columbus, but we have had three good snows where several inches accumulated.  (Yes, the city practically shut down).  It was very pretty to look at… before the automobiles ruined it by turned it into dirty black packed ice.

I was thrilled to take out my snowboard again.

As you can tell by the laughable size of the hill behind me, I am still in Ohio and not skiing in actual mountains.  It’s better than nothing.

 

I love a good IPA.  And they might actually taste better in the Winter.

Are you experiencing a “real” Winter right now?  What do you enjoy about it?

Comments

  1. If you would have spent Patagonia’s winter in Patagonia, you would have seen snow for sure. Ohio looks beautiful in winter, at least in your pictures. I have a post coming up on the biggest storm Israel has seen in 10-20 years, which I managed to miss despite being a big winter fan. Fortunately, I have plans for February to make up for it :) Hope your bike rides are less frozen for the rest of winter – good thing they’re at least shorter now!
    Ayelet – All Colores recently posted..Meet a Local: Sabina, a Middle East Solo Female Traveler from Connecticut, USA

  7. Our winter has not been what I expected. We’ve had little rain, only one big snow and now it’s warming up quite a bit (er, 0C instead of -10C)

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