This post has no deeper message...

Okay, most blog posts I publish have a deeper meaning. This one doesn't. Well, maybe a small one, if you'll bear with me. 
This past weekend, a couple of ladies and I embarked on a cross-country skiing adventure. It was grueling, but fun. Our agenda: we cross-country ski for 10 kilometres until we reach a primitive hut where we live there for 2 days.

 It has 2 wood stoves and an outhouse. Always be sure to brush the snow from the seat and paper as it can cause frostbite.

We immediately warmed up the place and ate a hearty meal, then hit the sack because the next day is all about snowshoeing. 
We hiked to the sand dunes and Atlantic Ocean. Okay, it's not a warm sunny beach where some of my friends are right now, but it's not without its beauty.

And we had it all to ourselves. 

 Even the entrance to the beach.

That evening, we played dominoes. For an uninsulated hut that is leaking thanks to a wild winter,

 it's cozy enough to enjoy the good things in life. 

On day 3, we returned, via cross-country skiing. A nice treat along the way was a storm-delayed Flag Day celebration, 

complete with hot chocolate and cake and a fascinating talk with a biologist who informed us that the beastly animal we'd spotted in our hut was, yes, indeed, a pygmy shrew. (well, it was the size of a large beetle, you know!)
And the hike back into civilization was lovely, quiet and ahem, invigorating.

Oh, yes, back to my deeper message. If you know me at all, I'm a warm summer gal. So if a warm summer gal can find beauty and enjoyment in a winter that finds us over our heads in snow and bitingly cold winds, then you can slog on through this month, too. That's my deeper message. Stay strong. We're all in this together.