Signs of Winter

Here in Buffalo, most of the trees are now bare, which actually makes for a brighter living room now that all the trees around our building aren't shading the sliding glass door in the living room. And the other day, the work crews were out installing the snow-plow markers: wooden stakes and steel rods, about four feet tall, whose purpose will be to show the plows where they should stop lest they demolish curbs and scrape the ground apart. Next, I suppose we'll have the installation of the ice boom in the Niagara River. In the words of House Stark, "Winter is coming...."

(BTW, those who understand that last reference might want to check out the sample chapter of A Feast For Crows that George R. R. Martin recently posted to his website, here. The bad news is that he still isn't done with the damn book!)