It snowed yesterday

It snowed yesterday

It snowed yesterday, not like the Alaskan snowfalls I had become so used to living there for almost twenty years.  This was not the 8 to 12 inch snowfall that the local news media would call “flurries”.  Small amount by most Northern standards as it was little more than a light dusting.  One of the few measurable snowfalls found in the South.  There was about an inch on the ground, a little more on elevated surfaces but mainly it was white and pretty.  It covered the brown leaves all over the ground left from last fall’s blowing and falling cycles. 

 It began during the night, coming softly with nary a whisper of wind blowing like the previous day.  I woke up during the night, not from any noise, but because it was suddenly quiet and I sensed there was snow coming down.  Lying there I knew it was snowing as I could see the deck starting to turn white from the small drifting flakes.  In the morning I saw the many birds hitting the five feeders hanging from the deck.  The only disturbance in the fresh blanket of snow covering the deck was the tiny prints left by the birds and a squirrel trying to get food out one feeder.  The ground outside was icy, a treacherous drive down the hill of the driveway but luckily I need not go anywhere this morning.  It was crazy out there this morning as the deer that normally come around each evening just before dark to eat the corn I leave for them were back looking for tasty morsels left from the night before. 

As is typical in the South, by afternoon, the snow was melted off the driveway and places getting full sunlight on the ground.  Outside it was too cold to work but I went out several times as the afternoon colors were vibrant as the skies cleared to a deep blue, some white still contrasting on the ground in places.  I enjoyed seeing my breath hanging in the air and the chill that made my nose tingle, not like the below zero temperatures found in Alaska where your nose hairs freeze.  The snow was cold this time and squeaked under my shoes as I walked about in the driveway . . . watching the birds, squirrels, chipmunks, and deer up on the hillside going over to my neighbor’s property.

It felt good to have snow again and the quietness it brings.

Ice