Grainiac said:
For someone who spends all the non-frozen months evenings and weekends gardening I am extremely happy for living in a climate where I have very low likelihood for running into poisonous snakes, scorpions, fire-ants, and such. Our 7-8 month thaw season here is plenty long for me, and I am more than ready to take a break on gardening and transfer to my inside hobbies by November. Having lived 68% of my years in areas with a "real" winter, I have learned to deal with it quite well. Regarless, I like spending one week in the middle of every winter somewhere where temperatures get above 50 F during the day, just to warm my bones a bit.
+1
I've spent the entirety of my 55 years here on the homestead in northern Illinois, and LOVE all 4 seasons.....even Winter!!! As a kid I spent most of my waking hours outdoors playing, regardless of whether it was extremely hot or extremely cold. I've always loved our cold and snow here. It didn't matter whether I was in the snow playing or working.
I worked primarily outdoors for the first 17 years after high school, so got to fully experience what every season of all of those years had to offer. I nearly always preferred working in the cold weather rather than the hot weather. I learned how to dress for the cold....multiple thin layers!!! Two winters of trudging through snow, sleet, slush, and extreme cold as a meter reader wasn't overly fun, but it never really bothered me either. In fact it was much more bearable than doing the same job when it was hot and humid.
After my stint as a meter reader, I spent the next 15 years as the low man on the totem pole on a maintenance crew. As such, I got all of the hottest jobs during the summer, and all of the coldest jobs during the winter. My normal daily routine started with 2 hours washing outdoor wastewater tanks with a 1-1/2" hose hooked to a hydrant.....even in sub-zero weather!
I still enjoy being outdoors in the winter! I love snow! And I don't mind cold at all! I enjoy shoveling snow, and rarely use our snow blower. Many times after shoveling, I sit on he patio and bird watch!!! Did I mention that I enjoy being outdoors?!
And like Grainiac, winter gives me a much needed break from the gardens, and time to spend on my indoor hobbies (and planning for the next year's gardens).
My cars sit out all year with no problems, and I have never had to use jumper cables or change a battery in the winter. Our city uses hundreds of tons of salt on the streets just about every winter.....NO sand.....and I've experienced no corrosion problems on our vehicles in decades. (I don't wash the cars during the winter either....and very seldom in other seasons.) As for scraping ice of the car windows......I don't!!! We have 'remote starts' on both cars, so I just hit he button on my key ring and the car starts up with the defrosters on. In about 15 minutes the ice/snow has melted off, and I'm ready to head out. And I don't mind driving in snow either, probably due to the fact that in HS I had Drivers' Ed in December and January....in the snow, and then drove a maintenance truck, a snowplow, or a pickup for 32 years.
I love the cold, i love the snow, I love Winter!!!!