My, what a long, long, long winter we've had

We recently exited quite a winter.

It was snowy, cold and long. In some ways it lingers.

From a celestial standpoint, winter began Dec. 21, 2016, but some might argue it was earlier, on Nov. 9.

Regardless, the past 100 or so days have combined to produce an outbreak of “cabin fever” that has been hard to break, and for many reasons.

According to the National Weather Service, the first snow arrived on Dec. 9 and never left until George Washington’s Birthday, Feb. 22, a total of 76 long days. Through April 1 we were blessed — or cursed — with 61 inches of the “white stuff,” with 45 the average....