While most of my friends, real and virtual, are bemoaning the end of summer I for one look forward to the shorter days and cooler and cold weather. There are few things more exciting than a fall or winter Pacific Storm, few things more invigorating than the frigid east wind coming out of the Columbia River Gorge or the far to infrequent snowfall that shrouds the area in a quietness like nothing else can. My sister came up to visit me last February and it started snowing about 2 hours after she arrived. We were snowbound in my house for 4 days and it was one of the best 4 days for me in recent history. We did trudge up to the local Albertsons when we ran out of wine. People tend to think of winter as gray and colorless but nothing could be further from the truth.