Well, it's Christmas Eve.  I was hoping to get to the rink this evening but the wind started gusting on the drive home from work.  The rink is out in the open and I didn't think the time there would have been enjoyable so instead I chose to light up the Christmas tree, pour a glass of wine and watch a Wild Canada dvd.  

The thought was there at least.  The glass of wine was still sitting untouched on the table and the dvd played through without me seeing more than 5 minutes of it.  I'm blaming the plush, snowflake blanket.  Each time I curl up under it, my eyelids close.

When they decided to open, I admired the tree and thought about how all the decorations on it reflect the things that I love in nature.  Birds, snowshoes, skis/poles, skates and deer adorn the branches.  Rustic snowflakes, birch stars/trees and berry garlands/picks can be found on it as well.  I've been collecting those decorations for many years and finally have enough for the entire tree.

The only thing missing this Christmas is snow.  The season started off with a bang.  There were two snowfalls that dumped almost 12 inches of snow each but there were also days that the temperature got to +12C which melted most of it.  

The groomers are struggling to keep some of the x-country ski trails open.  There is not enough snow for snowshoeing and the hiking trails are quite icy and require cleats on the boots.

I checked the weather history to compare last year to this one.  On December 22, 2013 it was -32.6C overnight.  I remember going for a snowshoe outing that day and coming back to my vehicle pretty frosty.  On December 24, 2013 it was -3.1C overnight.  From the sound of things it is not going to be as cold or as warm as last year. 

Whatever the the temperature happens to be, I hope everyone has a Merry Christmas and has the opportunity to enjoy the natural beauty of the season.