Top 10 Reasons Why I Love Winter: Reflections
December 13, 2003
Countdown :
10. Anticipating a big storm dropping several feet of snow.
9. Hearing ice booming on the pond.
8. Throwing snowball, after snowball, after snowball to a crazy dog named Kasha.
7. Seeing sunlight sparkling off the crisp whiteness of the snow.
6. Cheering for the neighborhood children as they play hockey on the pond at sunset.
5. Feeling the freezing wind stiffen my face and form ice crystals on my eyelashes.
4. Seeing animal tracks and slide marks in the snow.
3. Skiing willy nilly down a tiny rise on the trail and falling into a snow bank because I have yet to learn how to stop.
2. Walking across a frozen bog and enjoying a part of the trail inaccessible the other three seasons of the year.
1. Enjoying a school closure due to a huge snowstorm the night before.
We had our first taste of winter this last week and after having taken a walk in the snow I felt a large weight lift from my shoulders, as if some of my worries were no more. I am amazed at how therapeutic snow is for me.
The snow came down light and fluffy, all 19 inches of it. Two days later we got a full day of rain which washed away all but a few inches of snow. What remained was firmer and I was able to observe many deer tracks throughout our back yard and down our small forest trail. It was so much fun to see evidence of animals that are normally invisible to us. I also saw squirrel tracks running this way and that from tree to tree. I laughed at their antics as I imagined them. I have been thinking of getting some charcoal so I can dust the tracks and photograph them. It will be interesting to see if this works.
These are my musings of the moment. There will be more to come as winter takes a firm grip on this very special place in Maine.
