Old Man Winter and my favorite things of the season

This 19th-century depiction of Old Man Winter feels very much like it should.

We’re not exactly there yet, but I always wondered why winter is described as an Old Man. Somewhere in a faraway place, long, long ago, this idiom must have been born. I never thought of winter as an old man, but it makes sense if you think of the season as a grandfather-like figure.

Where I live, winters aren’t too cold, but then again, it doesn’t take too much for us to get…