This is the time of year when I have trouble remembering all of the very good reasons that I don’t live in California anymore. To distract myself from California dreaming, I’m trying to focus on the pleasant things winter in New England has to offer, like…

Snow sparkles. (They don’t photograph well, but they’re probably my favorite thing about winter.)

Meta-gingerbread house in the Festival of Trees gingerbread house competition. (I love tiny things and meta-things and baked things, and this hits all three.)

Self-portrait. (I have an affinity for photographing my reflection in glass balls. Christmas provides many opportunities to act on this affinity.)

Suburban sunrise. (In the summertime, I rarely get up early enough to see the sunrise.)

Squirrel tracks. (I love cute little mammal tracks, and I’m such a poor tracker, I can only identify them if the animal making the tracks is making them in my presence or if the tracks are in a thin layer of snow. Even then, I want so badly to see skunk tracks that I think every set of tracks I see are skunk tracks until I get home and look them up. Squirrel feet are cute, too.)

And those tempted to point out that sunrises, Christmas balls, and even gingerbread houses happen in California, too, please just hush; it’s a long time until spring.