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I took a drive out to the lake today. For the first time in, like, ever.

Winter in the Midwest makes me gloomy. I detest cold weather, and I miss the colors of summer, spring and fall.

Something occurred to me a while back, though: Despite the overall lack of color in winter, there is an openness about it that allows you, in some ways, to notice more stuff. To see through the trees, for example, to the water; to notice the branches and their random symmetry, without being distracted by the leaves.

Nearby, I saw another tree with red berries. I have not yet checked it out in my handy-dandy new field guide, but I know I have never noticed the colors of this tree at any other time of the year.

Not long before that, I spent some time by the lake. The day was warm (mid-60s) and the wind was strong (10 to 20 mph, with gusts at 30+), so I pretended I was near an ocean.

If I had a surfboard ...

Meanwhile, I continue to catch bits and pieces of the Winter Olympics.

We all know I love ’em, but there’s something special about the winter sports, to me. I suppose it’s because I have never really done any of them!

I mean, do you think I’ve ever ice skated? No. So that leaves out figure skating, speed skating and hockey. Yeah, I’ve roller skated puh-lenty, but somehow, that really doesn’t seem to compare. Just as my skateboarding days are in no way related to snowboarding events — which, by the way, my new favorite is the snowboard cross. And I have never skied, either, so forget about any of those events.

I suppose the closest I have ever been to competing in Winter Olympics event is the luge ... if you can even slightly compare sledding down a fairly steep hill with a dip at the bottom — and a tree! — to the wackiness of the luge!

Anyhoo, I don’t care all that much about who wins which events this year. I root for the Americans, of course, and I continue to wish the commentators would SHUT THE HELL UP DURING THE FIGURE SKATING SO I CAN ENJOY THE PERFORMANCES, but other than that, I’m only in it for the entertainment.