In the bleak midwinter

The last few weeks have been a throwback to winters of yore in these parts.  Relentless cold with episodes of snow and little in the way of sunlight to mitigate the depressing cold.   Nearly everyone is dealing with some sort of upper respiratory malady and the office sounds like a TB ward this morning.  It is easy to let the freezing weather and nasty road conditions convince you to cocoon in front of the TV and wait for spring.  Fortunately, the mid-winter deluge of seed catalogs and travel brochures provide some respite.   Envisioning a tropical getaway with the Divine Mrs. M and the imminent start of the gardening season will drag me away from my weather induced torpor, I hope...