It just started to snow about 15 minutes ago and we already have a sugar powder coating over everything. Big fat, fluffy snowflakes are floating down and whizzing around in occasional blusters. If it keeps up, we’ll have a thick layer of pristine white snow in no time.
First snow has come late this year. I’ve enjoyed a white Christmas on a few occasions since I moved here 6 years ago. One time, we got snow as early as the second of November, but that was a fluke. This year, we’re well into January.
I’m so happy I just stocked up on groceries, so I don’t need to worry about driving around in it or hiking to a local market. I’m not accustomed to driving in the snow since we don’t get it often. Usually, we get it a few days here and there in winter. At most, it’s lasted a couple weeks. Sometimes it snows over night and I wake up to a beautiful white landscape, then the sun comes out and it melts away and you wonder it was ever there just hours before.
Because I grew up in California and snow is not a regular occurrence here (just north of Seattle), it’s always an event for me. The roads are quieter because people tend to stay in and it’s a beautiful, muted and peaceful scene to enjoy. I especially love to read and drink tea curled up in front of a window. Sometimes I put on my snow boots, hike around the neighborhood and take photos. If I think I’ll need to get out of the driveway and it’s expected to stay in the freezing zone for days on end, I’ll shovel the drive daily. It’s better to keep up on it rather than wait for it to compact or melt and freeze again. If it does, it can become heavy layers of slushy ice or hard sheets of ice—both are laborious to displace. It’s much easier when it’s light, fluffy snow. It’s also fun to trudge through.
The forecast shows snow for the next hour and no expectation of more over the next 7 days. For now, I’ll just enjoy the first snow and enjoy a cup of tea and a good book. Here’s a short video clip so you can see the snowflakes descending.
Another 20 minutes, and we have snow coating tree limbs and almost covering the ground. Beautiful. It’s really majestic if the sun comes out to bounce off the snow and brighten everything. If that happens, I’ll get more photos and share them.
