Winter Wondering Land
Our region is experiencing the strangest winter. Usually the first snow hits around Thanksgiving and keeps increasing until even the snow aficionados are satisfied. Not this year. No snow outside. Nada. Nuttin. It felt more like Easter service than Advent Sunday service stepping outside of church recently. Sunny skies, a light, yet chillish breeze, a hint of better weather around the corner. I am not complaining. Not at all.
My idea of winter. See that touch of touch way up on the mountain? image: morguefile
Originally I grew up in the wet Northwest and snow at Christmas was an unexpected bonus. I even participated in the usual winter sports of skiing, skating, and sledding. I moved away and traded the dreary rainy winters for snowy ones. Change of pace? No, temporary insanity. Snow is definitely for the younger crowd. Growing older, having to deal with snow as an adult, the fun factor gets zipped out when one must zip into the expense of snow tires, the heave ho of shoveling snow, and surviving the tedium of four months of various shades and stages of this winter wonder as it passes from winter wonderland to icky icy mess.
Yet, Christmas is a bit more special with the lacings of snow. I’ll concede that point. Look at all those Christmas movies that require snow as part of their plot.
So, out of curiosity I hope you take my snow poll:
Show of hands, please…
“Bring on the snow!”
“No way, no snow.”
“Snow in the mountains only, thanks.”
Pam Webb 
Initially, snow is a wondrous thing. Silent, it sneaks in and blankets everything — depending on the storm. Afterwards, for the briefest of times, it’s a fairyland. Then the slow melt into street slog, and curbed snow soaking up black car exhaust. You have to be quick to make snow cream, if you dare anymore at all. I’m told the pollutants hitch a ride on the flakes, and you need a shovel and geiger counter anymore to make a pure selection of ingredients. All in all, I give thumbs up to snow. If I’m going to have to put up with bare tree limbs and a decidedly lowered population of songbirds, I want the snow to make up for it. So, yeah — snow. Definitely snow.
You almost had me fooled with your initial lament of how fast snow goes from glory to gory. 😊
If I lived in Alaska, it’d be different.
Oooh, scary thought. To have THAT much snow AND long, dark winters😬
Having shoveled my way through two snowpocalypses in my area, I’m not a fan of a massive amount of snow.
I don’t mind a little bit of snow, say two or three inches. Enough to beautify everything — snow seems to make even ordinary objects look more attractive — but not enough to cause road/step hazards.
Dressing–snow should complement, not commandeer the landscape. As I write this the forecast is snow. Maybe our reprieve is over😱
We don’t see much snow around here. I LOVE the snow! And could romp in it all day long, but the Mom Person has a great aversion to cold. It’s really hard to get her to come out and play!
My post seeded the clouds and four inches came tumbling down! Best watch what I write about. But did have some fun romping with my human pups in the snow!
Keep it in the mountains.
Yes, indeedy!
I am pro snow! I have snow pants for sleddin’ and everything! Here’s hoping Mother Nature will soon get her act together.
Well, I pretty much jinxed it by mentioning the lack of snow. We got a rousing four inches the day before the grandkiddo headed back home where wet is the norm. Snowball fights with her boisterous uncles and building snowfolks with her mom. We had our fun. Where’s the delete button for this stuff?
Nothing yet around here. Here’s hoping I jinxed it, too…
I’ll gladly mail you my 30 mph winds and 19 degrees. Are were you desiring the Currier and Ives fluffy sledding snow package?
Yes indeedy. But it needs to pack well enough so I can build a snow fort.
Ha Ha–the daughter built one for the grandkiddo and then they went home and didn’t get to slaughter the uncles with snowballs!
I love snow, yeah!!! However….. I’ll settle for a 3-5 snow storms a winter. Recent winters have brought a lot more and the shoveling, driving and such does eventually drain my childlike enthusiasm for it after a while (it does take a while though!).
I’m done after one day of fun. I was getting quite used to our odd no-snow winter. It felt like March instead of December. Now it’s back to scraping, plowing, slipping, and shivering.
Brr, ouch, oof! You deserve a hot chocolate 🙂
With whipped creme! I have to do errands and with icy roads, temps of 19 degrees with a wind making things interesting I intend on taking you up on your suggestion when I return 🙂