How do you "winter?" The cold, snowy season inspires many of us to don skates, skis, or snowshoes; while others prefer pulling on snow boots for walks around their favorite outdoor places. Like other locations around the world, winter brings a magical Narnia-like feel into our lives … well, maybe not the shoveling!

For others, the winter season is a time to hibernate, immersing themselves in some of those great books they’ve been meaning to read, crafting, planning new gardens, spending time with family and friends, writing, catching up on projects around the house, we've been waiting to find the time to do.

Our friends at Boothbay Region Art Foundation were pondering the winter season last year and decided to change things up with a show simply entitled "Wintering." This exhibition runs through March 9 and it is one that will warm, charm, delight and fascinate.

About 65 artists are represented. Office Manager Lauren Palmer says these creatives hail from all over Vacationland from Saco and South Portland, to Freeport and Brunswick; Alna and Wiscasset, Waldoboro, Cushing, Warren, Sprucehead, Lincolnville ... and all points in between. Using a variety of media they have created delightful vignettes of visual storytelling.

I was drawn to Rachel Robbins’ “The One You Feed” the moment I walked into the gallery. It was Skadi, the Norse Goddess of Winter  with one of her companions. She, and they, are connected to nature, to the wild. The wolf, eyes ablaze, mirrors Skadi’s fierce nature in their land of ice and snow. And, upon further reflection … Look at the way Skadi’s hair frames the side of the wolf’s face; they are fiercely one. And though not a moon goddess, the phases of the moon along the top of the painting hint at her “station” (if you will); and the images framing the side of the scene, magnified snowflakes or ice crystals. Feed your soul, heed the season.

Jim Farnan’s “Simpler Times,” is a real charmer depicting an ice hockey game. I can’t tell the age of the players, but they are on teams judging by their numbered shirts that are either light or dark in color. There’s a warming fire in an old metal can in the forefront, and in the background, a steam train clears snow from the tracks. What I really like about this painting is the artist’s use of color for this slice of yesteryear: all muted, aged. The hills in the background may not be snow-capped, but you know the air around them is as cold as that fire is hot.

On a completely different note, Debra Arter’s “Fairytale Snow Scene” kept drawing me back for another look. Snowflakes falling in a colorful land of purple mountain majesties … water streams of yellow and persimmon in the forefront move the eye to darkened purple-blue waters. Inviting? For a spell, perhaps. It is a place of magic more colorful than Narnia … and you don’t need a “Wardrobe” to get there!

Snow blows through trees in the forest scene at Perkins Arboretum, depicted by Gene Frey, drew me back for a few views. The black, frozen stream’s border has something of the medieval about it – like a drawing from a King Arthur novel. At first glance, scattered snowflakes softly float and land, a downed tree limb rests atop the icy water as tree limbs in this wood yield gracefully to the windblown snow … Yeah. There’s a story there.

Through all my meandering through this “Wintering” show, the painting that will resonate with many viewers will be Janet Percival’s “My Winter.” The subject is all cozied up under covers in her (I’m guessing) favorite chair with her beloved pupster lying near. You can hear the occasional sounds of the woodstove, taste the Earl Grey tea in the cup on the table at her side. And, outside the door a jolly snowman seems alive, newly created by the woman in the armchair. A colorful slice of life indeed.

Sculpture. What kind of art show could be without it? Catherine Gibson’s “Sacrificed” is one to spend some time with. I wanted to pick it up (I didn’t) so strong is the energy embodied within.

I could go on and on about this show (as those of you who read these columns know) … so many great winter depictions that lend themselves to so many seasonal tales and daydreams.

Boothbay Region Art Foundation is at 1 Townsend Ave. in downtown Boothbay Harbor. The gallery is open Thursday through Saturday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Sundays 10 a.m. – 4 p.m.