Winter wonder

OK, all you literalists, I know it's not winter yet, but fall/autumn wonder doesn't have quite the same ring. Since we moved, everyone's been wondering: Is it snowing? Are you stranded? Is it freezing? Here's the rundown for the past month:

Average temperature: 60s

Days of snow: 2
(Once it snowed while I was at work and wasn't even evident by the time I left; the second time there was just trace accumulation the next day.)

Skies: Sunny 95% of the time

I'm sure this will all change, and in fact, a cold spell has been moving in the past few days for highs in the 40s, lows in the 20s and teens, but so far the bad weather you've been seeing on TV is in the mountains or beyond Denver. We've taken Angus on lots of walks in shirt-sleeves (us, not Angus, though he has worn his reversible nylon/corduroy coats a few of the colder days).

We are guessing December-February will be the real test, but apparently the snow here is generally gone within a day or two (provided it's not a huge storm), and all the locals say the winters are mild. Of course, many of them have no basis for comparison. We are thinking that maybe people exaggerate the winters here like Northwesterners exaggerate the rain (which I would call drizzle) to keep outsiders away. We'll keep you posted; then again, there's already too many people here, so maybe we'll tell you the winters are dreadful and to stay away at all costs.