diff --git a/lib/compass/exec.rb b/lib/compass/exec.rb
index 664db9d4..08b15e8e 100644
--- a/lib/compass/exec.rb
+++ b/lib/compass/exec.rb
@@ -6,7 +6,11 @@ require 'compass/actions'
 require 'compass/installers'
 require 'compass/commands'
 require 'rbconfig'
-require 'win32console' if RbConfig::CONFIG['host_os'] =~ /mswin|mingw/
+begin
+  require 'win32console' if RbConfig::CONFIG['host_os'] =~ /mswin|mingw/
+rescue LoadError
+  $boring = true
+end
 
 module Compass::Exec
 end
diff --git a/lib/compass/logger.rb b/lib/compass/logger.rb
index c0fd5ffd..7f726689 100644
--- a/lib/compass/logger.rb
+++ b/lib/compass/logger.rb
@@ -46,7 +46,11 @@ module Compass
 
     def color(c)
       if Compass.configuration.color_output && c && COLORS.has_key?(c.to_sym)
-        "\e[#{COLORS[c.to_sym]}m"
+        if defined?($boring) && $boring
+          ""
+        else
+          "\e[#{COLORS[c.to_sym]}m"
+        end
       else
         ""
       end