I Will Never Not Stop for Snow

Pekin lilac ‘China Snow’ in a fresh snowfall.

Snow has finally arrived! Winter has crept in on soft white kitten feet. Have you stopped for snow yet? I cannot help but take a moment each time it snows to watch it. From the hard pebble ice to the fluffiest of flakes, I cannot stop my hand from reaching out and studying it as each piece of white melts into a water drop.

I love it as it limns the tree branches and defines their elegant architecture. I watch for evidence of the birds and animals as they establish their paths. My constant view from the study window allows me to study the habits of the squirrels and the fleeting lives of the birds. And snow.

Snow blankets. Snow softens. Now it is new and fresh and a benediction. By March we all will be weighted by another wave of white. And still, I will be watching the snow as it quiets the landscape and brings it to stark black and white, feathered with blue and grey shadows.

Have you caught a snowflake on your tongue yet? Have you scooped that first snowball? Shoveled the walk or the drive by a waning moon chased by racing gossamer clouds? Has the cardinal scolded you for not refilling the bird feeder as you sink ankle deep on your way to top it off?

Have you wondered at the alchemy of air, water, and dust that makes an individual fingerprint of snow? How wonderful and intriguing a world we share with these small, frozen, delicate, castings of hope from the sky to the earth.