We've got about an inch of snow on the ground in Erie, Pa., and the temperatures are cold enough to keep things white. But this has been a mild winter. Roads are clear, I've yet to get my driveway plowed, and we're running a story in Tuesday's Erie Times-News about how Lake Erie is not expected to freeze this year.

That's big news here. When the lake doesn't freeze, Presque Isle beaches are exposed to harsh storms that wash away large stretches of sand. Tree branches and debris from the water wash up on shore, leaving quite a mess for the folks who clean the beaches in spring.

Still, that's a small price to pay for what has been a dream of a winter -- for people like me, at least. Two readers called today to ask about ice on Lake Simcoe in Canada. These are avid ice fishermen who can't get their fix because we have no ice -- and here we are closing in on the last week in January! That's a rarity. If we get freezing temperatures for a week or longer, we might get some ice on the bay, but it won't be the 8-inch-thick ice fishermen love. Then they can put up their little shanties, many of which are heated.

Until this weekend, many local skiers have also been pining about the mild winter. At nearby Peek 'n Peak Resort and Conference Center in Findley Lake, N.Y., an investment in snow-making equipment is paying dividends. Without the man-made snow, this winter would have been a rough one there, as it is at other skiing centers.

Craig Latimer, who runs the QUAD Games, a nationally-known series of "people sports," including a cross-country ski race, swim race, bike race, and running race, has had to delay his ski race for several weeks so far. Latimer is used to delays, but perhaps this could be the magic weekend at Peek 'n Peak, where the race is held on the upper golf course.

It's funny, but so many people complain about the coming winter, and then when it doesn't come, many are still griping. During cold winters, I enjoy going out on the ice on the sunny days of February or March -- when the temps rise to about 40, but the ice is still eight inches deep. That's plenty thick enough, and it's when you see groups of 200 or more on the ice -- fishermen, skaters, kids playing hockey, and dogs barking happily as they sprint across the ice. It looks like a scene out of Currier & Ives.

But I won't be the least bit sorry if the weather's too mild this season to duplicate that splendid scene.

-- Kevin Cuneo