The past week offered up a short respite from winter with a brief thaw.  Some of our snow piles diminished and we were able to see open water on some of the lakes.  I headed over to Lake Como on Thursday night and was treated to a vibrant sunset that was reflected in the pooling water standing in areas of the lake.  It was all looking so much like the beginning of the end of our winter.   I was even treated to a small flock of geese that flew overhead, honking as they made their way from one end of the lake to the other.  But this was all a tease by Mother Nature.  Even after photographing this image, the wind picked up and the temperature began to drop.  And today we’ve had snow falling for over 12 hours, accompanied by strong winds creating white-out conditions and drifting.  Winter is not done with us yet, as our landscape is now covered with close to a foot of fresh white snow, and any water is now frozen once again.