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I am back home. What awaited me here were subzero temperatures, gusting winds, and a significant amount of snow. Still, it is home, and I am glad to be back here.

What also awaited me was a book I had ordered. I buy fewer books these days, as both an economic move and a move to conserve the limited amount of space on our bookshelves. When I do buy one, I try to make it a book I will read often or share with others. The book that awaited me is both.

The book is The Great Lakes: The Natural History of a Changing Region by Wayne Grady. Grady is a Canadian science writer and like me, grew up around the Great Lakes. His love for them comes through in his introductory chapter, but later chapters are mostly factual. The 320 page volume has beautiful pictures, although I wish there more of them, informative graphs, and poetic descriptions of the history, geology and ecology of the region. I had borrowed the book from the library last month but four weeks was not nearly enough for me. Anyone who is interested in this topic or just wants to see some great photographs should check out this book.

Today, I am going to take advantage of the cold and hibernate. I am doing laundry -consolidating loads and using cold water. Later this afternoon, I intend to make soup. And in between the laundry, I am going to read this book.

When life gives you frozen temperatures, make frozen lemonade. Or maybe a frozen daiquiri?