First frost on the car = First day of winter

First frost on the car = First day of winter. Or at least the slippery slope is viewable.

I hate scratching car windows. Brrrrr. A shiver of (negative) anticipation just went through me: shin deep in snow, trudging a path to the car. Starting the engine, hearing that annoying beeping sound as I leave the car running and get out to start scratching. Swearing, realizing I've got the wrong mittens on. (Yes, I actually have HUGE ungainly mittens for scratching. Warm but so bulky that I can't drive in them. Perfect for scratching.) Annoying dinging again as I dig inside the car for 'ice-scratching' mittens. Ding ding ding ding ding. (Like I don't know the car door is open.) Ding ding ding ding.

This is the about the only thing I don't like about winter -- scratching the car windows enough to be able to drive to work.

Because the first frost also means that I can put out the bird feeders and the suet thing. And only 66 days until Christmas! Plus this weekend I saw a gorgeous sugar maple just a few blocks away. And I saw a special display of lefse makers at a department store this weekend, too! And lights are starting to show up in windows.

That's one of the nice things about winter darkness - seeing lights in the windows. They are especially sparkly in the cold frosty winter air.

NOW I'm starting to remember what I luv about winter.