Winter Can Be Beautiful

This morning I awoke to an ominous announcement on the radio:

Warning: Freeze Fog

I was pleasantly surprised to back out of my garage into a true winter wonderland (ignoring the filthy piles of plowed snow that still line all of the streets and parking lots, of course). My father sent me this picture of his backyard and the protected stream behind it.

I got a closer shot of our crabapple tree with the camera built into my Blackberry.

Each branch is coated with ice. More delicate ice forms spikes along the branches, each resembling a stack of the snowflake nonpareils  sold to decorate baked goods. The effect inspires and requires no plowing. I suspect it will be gone by the afternoon.

I vote that we replace snow with freeze fog in upcoming winters.

Nostalgic Dreams of Rustic Murder

My husband dreams of a rustic cabin in the woods. He fantasizes about surrounding drifts of snow, with nothing to do but curl next to the fire with a good book. Sometimes he talks of such a home for retirement.

Over my dead body.

For a couple of days after our 18 inch Christmas blizzard, our extended family did not leave our 3000+ square foot home. My husband and son bravely cleared the driveway so we would be ready to go after a plow came through the road. Basically, ten of us sat around by the proverbial fire. We still had heat and electricity (thanks to buried utilities in our suburb) and plenty of food.

I don’t think we could have survived another day inside.

I think about our pioneer forebears who sat through such storms in a one-bedroom log house. I wonder how often they regretted their decision to head west on those long winter afternoons when snow piled above their waists and the long shadows of early night kept the melting sun away. I wonder how many grabbed an axe or shotgun and sent their families into eternity.

The roads have been cleared, and the sun shines today. I am thankful that I live in an age with plows and indoor plumbing.

The print above is by Lori Putnam and is available in a variety of formats at this website. You can also click on the artwork to get there. I will feel much better about posting this image if you visit her site.

It’s a Four Letter Word

I have received several emails and texts from my family, wishing me well:

Did you hear Omaha is getting up to 12 inches of snow tomorrow?

They have already cancelled school!

Think you’ll get home? We’re supposed to have blizzard conditions by the time you land!

S.N.O.W.

Four letters that may ground me tomorrow evening. Of course, my “well-wishers” keep “warning” me about this coming onslaught.

I wonder what they want me to do about it?

I can’t leave earlier. If I could, I would not have a direct flight. A layover in Chicago or Milwaukee is unlikely to improve my chances of landing in Omaha.

And it’s not like I can control the weather. If I could, Omaha would be perfect. Like 72 degrees from mid-January through May, then 85 and sunny for June-August. Autumn would bring 70 degree days with a touch of crispness in the evenings for football games. We would have 2 to 3 weeks of “winter” with just enough snow to dust the evergreens over Christmas and New Year days.

Think what the NCAA would pay me to guarantee a College World Series with no rain-outs!

Since I can’t make this happen, I will just have to go with the flow of snow tomorrow. Now quit telling me about it; I can get weather reports in DC!

Photo courtesy of PhotoXpress.

Solstice Celebrations & Smiting Darkness

Since ancient times, every culture in the northern hemisphere has acknowledged the winter solstice. December 21 marks the shortest day of the year, a period of darkness that heralds the cold of winter. As we approach a period of cold and, in the past, dependence on stored foods and our ability to hunt those animals still out and about, what better show of faith could there be than a great big party? Eat up, because we know our deity will provide!

As someone whose mood falls with the shortening day, Solstice Holiday (Christmas) preparations provide a great distraction. Decking the halls with greenery and lights makes those long evenings more cheerful. I love knowing that these “Christian” traditions have their roots in ancient pagan traditions as well.

My family went a little insane with Christmas when I was growing up. I have restricted my home to a single really big tree. This year a 12-foot Frasier fir is decked with 800 lights. We almost have all of the ornaments on it (I collect them anywhere I travel, and I can’t resist any shiny piece of blown glass, especially if fashioned by Christopher Radko).

What better way to smite the darkness than putting up a few thousand lights and other shiny things?

Art courtesy of PhotoXpress.