Bert the beagle - a sixteen-year fixture at our house - is feeling his years. And, he lets me know this at 3:30 a.m., 5:20 a.m., or whenever the urge strikes him. Thus, I have been getting in and out of bed at weird times lately. Believe it or not, there is an entertaining aspect to this in the cold weather. As I return to bed in the dark, and pull back the covers, static sparks momentarily light my way. How strange to think that this energy is around us and in us all th