“Winter passes and one remembers one’s perseverance.”
–Yoko Ono

A couple months ago, my partner and I sought out respite from the urban jungle and holed up in a quiet cabin in the woods.  When a storm blew in, quiet quickly became isolation.  Footprints were covered, visibility all but disappeared, and even the birds were nowhere to be found.  But with nature as our entertainer, and a large pile of firewood just a short walk away from the cabin, we settled in to be …