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It's no secret that our winters in the Ohio Valley have been quite fickle the past few years. Unlike the days of our childhoods, there have been fewer snowstorms to coat our landscape. There is a mixed consensus over the desire or lack of desire for snow.
I get it that skiers and snowboarders are bemoaning the barren hillsides. Others, however, are thanking their lucky stars that we missed the latest depths of snow to hit the Northeast last week.
The older I get, the more I appreciate not having to deal with snowy road conditions, frozen windshields and heating up the car just to run to the grocery store.
The month of February has Valentine's Day going for it and now the Lenten season. Other than that, it's a pretty boring month of gray skies and temperatures too chilly to do much outside.
Ice skating, however, still happens in Wheeling this month and the Wheeling Nailers are giving fans a great family experience.
February is a time of fish frys at local churches and social clubs. Lent provides those organizations a chance to enrich their coffers with the much-anticipated meatless menu options they sell. Fish sandwiches, dinners, mac and cheese and pierogies are out there for the taking. There are many options to delight just about any foodie.
While we are months away from tilling the garden or hanging out the hummingbird feeders, we have found ways to pass our down time -- even without football on the tube.
Basketball and hockey are now front and center for sports fans. And even some of the televised golf tournaments played around the world offer us an escape.
Stores are displaying seed packets now so why not do some planning for that first day we no longer worry about frost.
When spring arrives, so will the start of the garage sale season. Now is a good time to look deep into our closets, garages and attics to find items to donate to some of the church sales. Or perhaps plan your own backyard sale.
For now I enjoy seeing the light of day last a lot longer than just a month ago. Sunset is no longer at 4:30 p.m. Daylight is lingering until nearly 6 p.m.
That alone is reason to celebrate.
So until we officially climb out of this month and season, you can find me working a puzzle of brilliant flowers and spring-like landscapes at the dining room table. It's almost as good as the real thing.
Heather Ziegler can be reached via email at hziegler@theintelligencer.net.