The winter solstice may still be seven weeks away, but for all intents and purposes, winter begins this weekend.

“Say it ain’t so, Lake Placid News!”

We wish we could, but Mother Nature will slap reality in our faces when we get a stiff dose of winter weather. Snow and temperatures in the low 20s are forecast for this weekend. A high of 34 of Sunday? Yes sir! Skiers are drooling with anticipation. Snow makers at ski resorts are keeping a close eye on the thermometer. Ski season is less than four weeks away, the day after Thanksgiving, maybe earlier.

With Halloween comes the official holiday season. Thanksgiving is around the corner, and those who haven’t started their Christmas shopping yet are constantly reminded that they have less than eight weeks left to finish it. It’s a time for family, food and fun.

If the cold and snow aren’t enough to prove that winter is on the doorstep, Daylight Savings Time ends at 2 a.m. Sunday, Nov. 2. That’s this weekend, folks. Time to find all those clocks and change them again. Time to get used to a new routine until our bodies adapt to the change. Remember to fall back one hour on Sunday.

It’s time to get out the hats, gloves, parkas and snow shovels and stock up on some good reading material, tea and hot cocoa.

Winter’s here. Time to pull together and make it through another long one. Hopefully, spring will come earlier than it did this year; winter certainly didn’t come later.