Snow

I know people who despise snow; I am not one of those people. But I can certainly u n d e r stand why people don’t like it. It’s cold, slippery and let’s face it, driving in it can be dangerous. Shoveling it is backbreaking work.

Last week we had our first measurable snow in years. And it was one of those glorious Hollywood movie kind of snows, though it didn’t start out that way. The morning of Jan. 15 saw a skiff of snow mostly on the grass and in areas of the roads shaded by trees. I stayed home because there were some slick spots on the roads and after skidding into a ditch several years ago, I have become a bit gun shy about driving in wintry weather. My boss gave me the OK to work from home and I was able to sit and watch the flakes fall steadily throughout the day from my home office.

The snow didn’t really start accumulating until the evening when it started picking up the pace and temperatures began to plummet.

I had kept two deer blow molds from Christmas in our home’s front bay window just in case of a snow like last week’s. In the pictures I took of the house in the snow, the lighted deer gave that part of the house a golden glow. I also keep candles in the windows and white string lights in the living room and kitchen throughout the winter to help minimize the gloom.

Standing out in the yard on that snowy Monday night, I couldn’t help observing the quiet. We live close to the interstate and the sound of the traffic on the highway in the winter time is more pronounced. But that night all I could hear was the sound of the delicate flakes falling on my puffer jacket, sounding like dozens of fairies giving each other high fives.

When I moved out to Wesley Chapel almost eight years ago, I knew that this part of Rockbridge County would look like a storybook landscape of glistening white in snow, but I wasn’t quite prepared for just how lovely it is. It’s already a beautiful area, but with snow on its evergreens, sloped pastures and red barns, it looks like the kind of idyllic snowscape Bing Crosby sang about.

Like many people, snow brings back memories of childhood snow days. When there’s even the tiniest amount of snow on the ground, I remember being in the den of my old house on Taylor Street with my mother’s stereo tuned to WREL in the morning. Powering through songs about drunk dads and train whistles was well worth the pain when the announcer said school was canceled for the day.

Back then a snow day wouldn’t have been complete without a trip over to Woods Creek Park for sledding. When I see my backyard becoming increasingly white with snow and the slopes and small hills remind me of the ones in the park, I sometimes think, “Maybe I should get a sled.” But then I remember I’m middle aged now and should avoid such activity less I break a hip and end up in the hospital. Mick Jagger wasn’t kidding. It is a drag getting old.

The snow from last week’s storm still exists in patches here and there. With the predicted warmer temperatures later in the week, it will soon be all gone. We’re supposed to have rain today through the weekend. Rain in January makes the trees look even more bare. The bark darkened by rain looks so eerie against the slate gray sky.

I am hoping that the rain and the unseasonably warm weather is just temporary and in February snow will return. A blizzard might be nice, provided it occurs on a weekend when I have nowhere to go, there’s plenty to eat and drink in the house and the power stays on.

And I don’t break a bone trying to get to the mailbox.