A Cold, Snowy Surprise

I wonder if the snow loves the trees and fields,
that it kisses them so gently?
And then it covers them up snug, you know, 
with a white quilt; and perhaps it says, 
“Go to sleep, darlings, till the summer comes again.”^†

After a day navigating the countryside, making our way through unexpected deep snow drifts, and whiteouts that had endless energy and power, and ‘though I snagged some good shots, we were heartily relieved to return home, put the (thankfully undamaged) car in the garage and relax by the fire.  ‘Though unplanned (it was dry and sunny when we left Kingsville) our day out was unquestionably a snowpocalypse adventure.  

When we moved from Northumberland County (central Ontario) to Essex County (south-west Ontario), one of the first things our real estate agent said to us was:  “You don’t have to worry about snow tires down here; if it snows one day, it’s sure to be gone the next.”  Happy to have joined the local heterscian^* tribe, we have indeed enjoyed three very green winters so, until this January, our agent was quite right.  But this week, the snow kissed our fields and covered them in a white quilt.

Fresh snow never fails to evoke my childlike wonder! Despite my seriously advanced years, I freely admit to a frivolous, juvenile glee at being the first to walk on freshly fallen snow.  When it is this cold, the snow underfoot squeaks and crunches which is also childishly amusing.  There simply is nothing to rival a walk on new, white and sparkly snow!

Snow is Mother Nature’s paintbrush. With ephemeral artistry, she deftly wields it to conceal the grey/brown landscape, creating a luminous spectacle —  immaculate, alabaster and iridescent.  Fleeting, in our region, making it all the more more captivating and irresistible.  Seductive, even.  Covered in its white quilt, the county’s noise is muffled creating a cathedralesque serenity filling me with numinous joy, despite being bitterly cold. 

The crystals and textures of the snow both reflect and refract the light that shines on it creating an etherial realm.  On a sunny day, the snow is decorated with  long, dramatic, sapphire shadows, transforming the natural world into an enchanting wonderland.  The striking contrast between light and dark, and the many textures created by the pristine white blanket are a compelling lure to photographers, offering myriad, stunning compositions.

The soil, already frozen for weeks past, is prepared to sustain whatever burden may be laid upon it,
and to a Northern eye the landscape will lose its melancholy bleakness and acquire a beauty of its own when Mother Earth, like her children, shall have put on the fleecy garb of her winter’s wear.^#

’Til next time, y’all…

^†Lewis Carroll, from his novel Alice Through The Looking-Glass, Page 142, “Chapter I:  Looking-Glass House” from his anthology The Complete Works of Lewis Carroll.
^*Meaning a dweller of a temperate zone — a word I hadn’t ever heard ’til we moved here.
^#Nathaniel Hawthorne from his short story “Snowflakes” — page 256 from his book Twice-Told Tales.