Janus, the two-faced Roman god of doors who sees both past and future, might be the most appropriate symbol for this third decade of the 21st Century. The deep winter doldrums of January slow down the pace of life, allow us to take stock of the present, recall the past and anticipate the future of our natural world.

Somewhat more than half (73.2 inches) of Ouray’s average winter snow (140.1 inches) historically falls by the end of this month. This year, we’ve had 86.5 as of Jan.

20. The first ...