I awoke this morning to one of my favorite things; the white light of a first snowfall bouncing off the walls and ceilings.
It took me 50 years to learn to embrace winter but I’ve done it. Part of that is the fact that time passes so quickly for me now that a few months of trouble getting around town and freezing temps doesn’t seem too long. A few months of anything doesn’t seem too long. Heck, the last four years passed in a heartbeat. I feel like I’m watching my grand kids grown up in time lapse photography. But it’s more than that: I love the look of snow, the smell of it and as I’ve entered middle age, with its attendant super power of never being cold, I find myself looking forward to single digit temperatures. It’s not cold; it’s refreshing!
But I’ve always loved the change in the light when the world is covered in snow. The variations in the light are one of my favorite things about living in a place where the seasons change. There’s no way you could mistake dawn in late November for dawn in early May; the sun isn’t even peaking up over the same bit of horizon. The slant of late afternoon in June, which happens around 7:00 pm is completely different from the angle of the sun at late afternoon in November, which occurs at about 3:30. I love them all.
It is kind of annoying that between Thanksgiving and MLKjr day, the sun stays so close to the horizon that no matter what time you’re driving, the sun is in your eyes but that’s only two months.
I love having long, lazy yet productive days all summer but the down time in winter is great. When it’s dark out by 5, I feel justified in laying down my brushes and calling it a day. In the dark, I don’t feel like a sloth when I plop in front of the TV and fireplace for the night, even if it is only 6:30.
I’ve always enjoyed bundling up and going out for a vigorous walk in the cold. The trick is having the proper clothes, of course. It’s much easier now than it was when I was little. Textile technology is great: we have super warm coats, boots and mittens that don’t weigh a ton. A good hat and a scarf to protect you from the wind and you can still walk around the lake. Nothing promotes a good night sleep better than being outside in the cold for a while every day.
Yesterday started out with rain. We’ve had so much rain this year our water tables have to be filled to the brim. If the precipitation continues as it has for the last ten months, we’ll have a lot of snow this year. The rain turned to sleet in mid afternoon. I took our wide plow and shoved all the slush off the driveway around 4. The sleet turned to snow after dark. Zack went out and shoveled the drive again around 9:30. The snow was coming down so fast and thick that I had to go out and shovel again at 10:30 so Jay could get up the driveway when he came home. The accumulation was only about an inch but the snow is so wet that it weighed a ton. I couldn’t do the whole drive, just the bottom so Jay could get a running start to get the Kia up. I sanded what I’d shoveled. It was gorgeous out. A wet, sticky snow like that turns our world into a winter wonderland. Two of the trees in the park right across from our house still have their leaves and they were completely transformed under the snow.
By the time Jay got home (the Tommies won again: three in a row!) he couldn’t tell that I’d shoveled at all but he did get up the drive without a problem. Then, buoyed by the win, he did one of his favorite winter activities: He fired up a cigar and a snow blower and cleared the drive and the walks all the way down the block. He recently bought himself a stocking cap with built in head lights. Not only can he see what he’s doing while he plows, but everyone can see him, which makes me rest easier. I don’t think he came to bed until 3:00. He never sleeps more than four hours a night during the basketball season. I don’t think any coaches do.
We’d had many years now when there was no snow at all on Thanksgiving. I remember back when I was little, being able to slide on our front hill over Thanksgiving break but not very often as an adult. I hope this snow lasts a few days, at least: it adds to the Holiday feeling around here. Jay and I took advantage of the long autumn by hanging lights on the back fence and the driveway. We got a couple strings of solar operated lights and put them on the front railings and in a tree in the backyard. They don’t work. The string on the front steps lights up once in a while but the string in the back have never gone on. We’ve checked and double checked them but nothing works. I consider them a failed experiment. I’ll replace the ones on the front steps with good old, plugged in lights.
I think we may put up our tree this weekend, since Josie will be here to help. She may not have time. She has lots of friends to see every time she comes home for a few days. I’ve got to sweep and dust this living room. I won’t decorate a grimy room. Right now, everything looks fabulous in the bright, white winter light.
I’ve got a few errands to run in preparation for tomorrow. They won’t take too long so I should get at them.
But I’d really rather spend the whole day on my porch, drinking cocoa and watching the cardinals in the back yard.