I love the fall colors and the brisk winds and leaves swirling around my legs as I walk. I love, even more so, the cold of winter and the excuse to strike up a warming fire or to relax in the glow of warm candlelight.

This is a picture taken in the first couple years after we moved into our house in Washington, DC. A shot looking up at my cheery bedroom window from the snowy sidewalk, past the holly hedge with clumps of snow.

An overcast February day of sailing on the Pacific coast of California.

On a boat, it’s a bit different to be cold. I’m someone who likes to wear shoes without socks and goes without gloves throughout the winter. Not on the boat. Here, I must wear gloves early in the season, else when I grab onto the stainless steel of the main shrouds to pull myself aboard, the cold metal bites into my hands–ouch! The interface with the cold is very stark. The charthouse walls are thin and every morning there’s condensation on the inside of the glass from our breath, cooking, and all the boat living that goes on down below decks.

The condensation inside the charthouse during a December gale at anchor.

The warming candlelight in the charthouse.

The hot coals in the Shipmate’s firebox below.