A white and gray day ... snow flocking each and every branch be it birch, maple or pine (or even our clothesline).  A brightness that compares to no other; enunciating the bark of pine and giving meaning to the words "snow white".  

The quiet is now even deeper; muffled beneath the layer of snow and the seasons have changed once again.  It happened ever so quickly yesterday and this morning when we awoke it was almost as if it had been winter just yesterday.  A walk down to the lake (the beach most specifically) one immediately encounters the chilling cold of the north wind; the season of ice making will be next, one that shows ever so slowly starting with bay shore and the boat houses.  The single digit temperatures that are forecast for later this week certainly indicate this snow is here to stay.