It’s balmy in Lake Wobegon.

I can hear the neighbor boys playing hockey in the backyard rink they poured in December. (It sits behind the inground pool and where the trampoline, hammock and volleyball/badminton net is in the summer–it’s a kiddie paradise!)

Not me, but same kind of sled

I remember being little and one of the neighbors poured a luge run in his backyard. It was sized for the red plastic toboggans everyone had. The run didn’t require steering or braking (which is good, since that’s impossible with those cheapy sleds) but still had two or three curves where you ended up riding kind of sideways. Very cool.

I try to appreciate these things about Minnesota when my feet are cold and I’m tired of snow.