Winter

They put the snow stakes up at work this week. They're bright orange sticks about 3 feet high and as big around as your finger. They are to show folks where the sidewalks and curbs are when the snow comes. Hopefully it won't be above the stakes. The wind has changed too. It favors the north and even though the temperature is 44, the wind gives it a noticeable chill and along with the rain it goes clear to the bone.

But it's not quite as cold as it used to feel when I was a kid and the only heat in the house was a pot bellied stove. You came out from under the covers at a dead run and dressed by the fire, sometimes standing so close to it your pants felt like they were on fire, or you could go to the kitchen and eat hot biscuits and while you stayed warm next to the oven.

Later on, when we had a furnace all they really did was put the stove under house and the heat shot up through the grate in the floor When it was cold enough you almost stood on that grate. I melted that pattern into the soles of more than one pair of shoes.

Now, the heat is in every room and the fireplace is mostly for show. The air is even warm when you step out of the shower, which makes my bones feel better, but sometimes I miss that old stove. It was things like that stove or those biscuits that helped families stay closer together. Something else to look back on with fond memories and smiles.

Those really were the days.