Don't misunderstand me. We do have a true winter season here in Branson, complete with sub-freezing temperatures and snow. But normally after two or three days of thirty degree weather or lower, it warms up to the high forties and low fifties. And three or four measurable snowfalls are common.

     Normal got thrown out the window this year. We had nineteen, straight days where the temperature never rose above freezing. And snow! Here in the Ozarks, there's an old wives tale that on whatever date of the month the first measurable snow falls, that's how many days of snow you will have that winter season. Guess when that was this year? The twenty-fourth of December. Yes, it was really wonderful to have a white Christmas, but it can stop snowing anytime now.

     The one consolation is that the whole continental United States has had weather that's far from normal. Honestly, though, it hasn't made me feel a whole lot better. How about you?

     Thankfully spring is just around the corner. My daffodils have already poked their leaves above the ground - I imagine to check the temperature.

     Well, I imagine I'd better get back to work on the Calder Christmas book and those handsome Bannon Brothers. I the meantime, as we say around here, stay warm and stay upright.

Happy Reading!