The first day of winter arrived with a roar here in Connecticut, dumping 14 inches of snow over two days. I’m not complaining though, I love cold weather and there’s nothing more beautiful than a thick blanket of fresh white snow. I love the way it softens the landscape, and covers up the bare, brown ground.

During a slight lull in the snowstorm, my wife Marla and I went for a leisurely stroll around town. That’s Marla standing at the end of the driveway with our snow-covered street in the background. Our town is ordinarily a pretty quiet place (population: 2,200), but it’s especially peaceful during a snowstorm. The only sound is snow crunching underfoot. Stop walking, and the only sound is the wind whistling through the bare trees.

Later that day, our son Chris went outside to romp around in the snow. He loves building stuff and it didn’t take him long to create this masterpiece: a 9-foot-tall snowman.

I’m sure we’ll have many more snowstorms over the next few months, as it’s not unusual for us to have snow on the ground until April, but for now, we’re enjoying the fact that it’s going to be a very white Christmas.