“Silently, like thoughts that come and go, the snowflakes fall, each one a gem.”
Night owls don’t miss much. Around 2:30, I let the dogs out before bed. A light snow was falling, a dusting left only on the deck, not the driveway. The dogs left paw prints. This morning the snow is gone, done in by the warmth, now 48°. The sky has dark clouds. The wind is strong and blowing all the branches of the pines and oaks. Rain is predicted.
When I was a kid, the first view of each winter’s snowfall was glorious. I remember yelling, “It’s snowing,” and running to the picture window to watch, to see the snow fall in the light of the streetlight at the end of the front yard. The flakes seemed to glitter and shine in that light. Sometimes a wind blew the flakes sideways. The heavier the snow the happier I was. I had visions of the morning fire alarm sounding its no school signal. My sled could come out of hibernation. Winter was now official.
I remember building the first snowman of the season. He was usually small and had dirt and grass embedded in his body. I gave my snowman a face and stick arms, a bit of personality. That first snowman stood on the grass in front of the house but seldom lasted too long.
I loved when my father pulled our sleds behind his car with a rope tow. The street was plowed but a slight layer of snow stayed on the road. He’d drive his car back and forth, up and down the road. Usually two of us would sit on the sled for the ride. It always seemed fast but never was. It always seemed safe and always was.
I remember when my sled morphed into a toboggan. I was older. We’d toboggan on the golf course, the one with hills. We loved the hills and bumps and being a bit air lifted from our seats. We’d stay all day, walking up the hill pulling our toboggan and flying down the hills.
I don’t remember when I became an adult and snow stopped being fun. It was something to shovel, to clear off the sidewalk and free the car. One thing, though, never disappeared, the joy of no school. I’d listen to the radio and cheer when my school where I taught was on the list.
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December 8, 2024 at 2:05 pm
Hi Kat,
Cloudy and rainy again today but clearing later. The high today will be a chilly 61°.
When I lived in New York in my teens, I really came to detest snow. Besides having to help shovel the stuff, getting around on foot made me hate the sloppy mess it becomes when it starts to melt. We had to walk our dog in any kind of weather. He chose carefully where he chose where to stain the snow banks yellow, and where to leave a deposit for someone else to clean up. At street corners, drivers would splash the dirty slush onto my shoes and after some melting walking became slick and dangerous.
We don’t get much snow here in North Texas, but occasionally we get hit with an arctic blast accompanied by snow and ice. A few years ago I spent a week in early December in Montreal Quebec. There was some residual snow on the ground, but during the week the high temperature was in the 50s with on and off rain.
When I arrived at the airport to come home the pilot told us that we were ready to go down to frozen DFW. When we arrived the entire area was covered with ice and snow. I told my wife not to come and pick me up. When I got to the taxi line, I was number 50 to get a cab. Eventually, I shared a cab with a South Asian family with two small kids. They were heading to India the day before and their flight to New York was canceled. They had slept in the terminal building all night and decided to go home and travel on a different day.
Normally I would have been home in about thirty minutes. However, because there are no snow plows, it took over an hour and a half to get home after dropping off the beleaguered family nearby at their home.
I like snow when viewed from the great indoors. Lot’s of Texans travel to Colorado to ski. I don’t ski for many reasons, primarily because I’m an athletic klutz.
December 8, 2024 at 8:11 pm
Hi Bob,
61° is spring round here. Calling it chilly makes me grin. The rain never materialized. It was sunny all day. I only needed a sweater.
I never had to contend much with slush sidewalks. The cape had no sidewalks back in my walking days. The gutters, though, did get filled with water so I had to watch out for passing cars.
No cleaning up after a dog is the worst offense, especially in the city. People used to curb their dogs. There were songs about it all over. Now, people carry the poop bags for clean-up. I seldom see dog leavings now.
I can think of nothing more dangerous than icy roads, when you are forced to go slowly. Patience disappears.
I also remember the great ice storm a few years back. Some places in New Hampshire were without electricity for weeks.
I like how pretty snow is, especially when it is falling and when it is pristine before the world ventures outside.
December 8, 2024 at 9:26 pm
When I was young in those days there wasn’t any city requirements to pick up after the dog.
Your mention of the fresh fallen snow, reminded me of the tails of, “The Wiseman of Chlem”, from the Jewish Pail of Settlement in Eastern Europe. After a beautiful snowfall, the wiseman wanted to keep the fresh snow beautiful after the town crier walked around town and left his footprints everywhere. Finally, after careful thought, they decided to have two men carry him around the town so he wouldn’t disturb beautiful the snowfall. 🙂
December 8, 2024 at 11:16 pm
Bob,
I laughed right out loud! What a great tale!!!
They used to call dog poop on sidewalks landmines.