Akaky has a new website

And it's nice, too. It's all photos, and judging from the pictures, he lives in Upstate New York, Home of Perennial Winter. Power lines sagging with ice--that's upstate, all right. Ditto, trees laden with snow.

We once lived in Albany, where the city fathers left snow removal to solar energy. They were ahead of their time in their respect for Mother Nature. However, in deference to the hilliness of the place, they put containers full of sand at really bad intersections. You either learned to drive in the stuff or stayed home permanently.

In the Spring, the frozen creeks would start babbling again, trees bloomed, and the natives went nuts. There was a feeling of giddiness in the air. We've survived! No more snow! Could this last? It never did.