Where the skies cleared this morning in northwestern Minnesota, temperatures dipped to 9 below. But here in the north central part of the state, the clouds linger, and the temperature is 15-20 degrees warmer. Still, I welcome the gradual clearing and colder temps coming our way later today, because the change will usher in a string of mostly sunny days, something we have lacked during the past couple of months. A Twin Cities TV weathercaster said last evening that this has been the cloudiest autumn in 35 years.
A farmer friend once told me that his mother, who grew up in Germany, referred to these stretches of cold, gray, cloudy days in the weeks before Christmas as “Advent weather.” Whatever one calls it, I will be glad to see some “cold sunshine” take over. A winter afternoon walk in our woods with my dog always seems better when the sky is blue.