This early-onset winter reminds me of my early years in Bend, where I moved in 2001 from sunny Florida. I fell in love with Bend in September of that year, and after an offer from The Bulletin to be its A&E reporter, I moved here by early November.

The difference between September and November, back then anyway, was staggering. I joke I gained a lot of my gray hair that first winter. 

Back then, I fully embraced snowboarding, cousin of my first love, skateboarding. In more recent years the snowboard has gathered dust, the ridiculously mild weather making skating outdoors an option, and a breeze.

Not so this year. I’ve already been cross-country skiing, and that snowboard might just come down off the garage wall yet.

Or, you know, maybe I’ll just ride my mountain bike, as Mark Morical writes of doing at Maston, near Redmond, in today’s Explore. Or I’ll stroll through a park, per guest contributor Ted Taylor’s piece on BPRD’s park options and policies for winter frolic.

—David Jasper, reporter and editor