Did I say "cocoon"? I'm reporting from the ice storm front today. Yep, it was a swift change from "top down" weather. I could feel it in the Kroger parking lot -- that biting, damp wind that characterizes the worst days and nights of winter in the South. True, we don't have snow to any measurable degree, but when ice packs in, it brings every rolling, walking and flying thing to a standstill. And remember that summer humidity? Well, it turns into something of a monster come January.

Nevertheless, I see from the weather forecast that we may be back into the 60's by the end of this coming week. Ah, the strange beauty of the Southern winter!