Walking in a Winter Wonderland

The big news here is that we had a record snowfall in December--36.1"--and also the snowiest month on record ever!! I fear that we are ill-equipped for winters in Wisconsin. Here's why:

1. We don't own a cool pickup with a snowblade on the front. We do own a pickup with 4-wheel drive and Rene will be getting a nice truck as a company vehicle. No snow blade, though.
2. We don't own a snowmobile. Snowmobiling is really serious business here. There are numerous snowmachine trails and in some places, the kids drive them to school. People have these funny looking trailers that they use to haul their machines all over.
3. We don't even have a blade for the riding lawnmower. We do have a snowblower. It's old and usually has to be fixed a time or two over the winter, but Rene is good at fixing it and it does a great job.
4. We don't drink beer. That puts us in a pretty big minority because the majority of Wisconsinites love their beer. I'm serious!

Combine any or all of numbers 1-3 with number 4 and you have a pretty good idea of winter in Wisconsin. And I haven't even mentioned the Packers, ice hockey or ice fishing yet. (They also are all combined with #4 above, in case you're wondering.)

Yesterday, we got 7.5" of fresh snow. It came down in pretty, big flakes all day. About 7 pm, Rene, Janet and I bundled up (it was 15 degrees) and went for a walk through the unplowed streets in our neighborhood. It was really beautiful and peaceful. On the way home, I was almost buried under three feet of snow by the snowplow, which came by about then. Winter Wonderland, Wisconsin style!