2016-01-31 – I do not like the cold. I like winter sports like skiing or ice skating, but I haven’t done them in a while. I kinda like shoveling snow. And a walk in the woods on a snow day can be pretty nice.

But you have to dress for them. I do at least. I have a parka that is rated to minus temperatures that rarely occur. Under that I have heavy sweaters, sweat shirts, or a down vest—or combinations thereof. I wear long underwear, warm socks, warm boots, and a hat. A baseball cap under the hood of my parka keeps a pocket of warm air close to my head, and the bill keeps snow away from my glasses. (I used to wear contact lenses to avoid the snow-and-glasses problem, but stopped when I started needing bifocals.)

I live in Chicago and I like it here. When my family moved to California, I learned that some people manage snow and cold by keeping it in the mountains. Since the 1980s, Chicago has been pretty good at clearing snow from its streets when it falls. But California goes that one better. Chicago needs to figure out a way to send its snow to the local mountains.

If only we had mountains.

So far, this winter has been pretty mild. And we’re getting close to the halfway point. I’m thinking that this year is going to be a pretty unmemorable winter. People say this is due to global warming. I’ve seen ups and downs in my life. There have been warmer winters and there will be colder ones. If you’re charting Chicago temperatures, maybe you can see trends. You can’t see a trend from one winter.

There’s still some chill to go. The high today could hit 50 and rain is forecast. We’re looking to drop below freezing by the end of the week. I see only light now in the 10-day forecast. Last week, already, we saw a robin.