I'd heard it might be a possibility but didn't think much about it. And down it came: snow. In December. In the South.
Unexpected beauty for sure.
Snow in our area in any month is big news, but this early in the season, when it's not even officially winter yet, well, it's the biggest news of all.
My husband was working at home that day, last Friday, and we decided to grab a quick lunch at our favorite pizza place. When we left our house, there was a light dusting of snow on the ground. As we sat in the booth at the restaurant, the flakes got bigger and more plentiful. By the time we left, the snow/icy mix was starting to stick to the road.
I love to watch snow fall--when it actually does fall--but a nagging thought grew in my mind: our daughter had to drive home in it. She’s a good driver, but she’s had little experience in snow and ice. I was relieved when her school released students early, and the waiting game began.
While I waited for her to get home, I walked around our yard and took photos of the beauty before me.
The leaves that I wrote about on a foggy Sunday morning two weeks ago were still on the trees. Here they are in the snow.
I found other leaves too.
Touches of red.
A fresh green fern looks out of season covered in snow.
Dry creek bed wet with snow.
As I gathered dozens of photos, waiting for my daughter, I thought back to a cold February afternoon many years ago. She was a preschooler then, and I was a single mom. It was the first snowfall at our new place. I only had one roll of black and white film--remember film?--but thought it might make for interesting photos.
I covered her in layers and topped her off with an Old Navy striped fleece hat, black coat with white leopard collar and cuffs, and multi-colored mittens. Out the door we went with our two labs. The dogs walked cautiously in the snow at first and then started running around, and so did she. It was about 11 degrees. I couldn’t wait to get back inside but still wanted her to have fun.
We gathered a little pile of snow and dubbed it a snowman, or rather, a snowdwarf. In the black and white photo below, it doesn’t even show up but that doesn't matter. It's not the focus of the picture anyway.
This is one of my favorite photos of all time. When I look at it, I remember two things: 1) She was a delight and a gift from God to me during my days as a single mother; and 2) a few days later, I went to the CS Lewis conference where I got to know a most interesting man, whose name was Mart Martin.
She made it home just fine on Friday. And even though I was cold and wet, I had as much fun as a kid in the snow, taking pictures of the beauty around me.
What about you? What's your favorite memory of snow? Do you like it? Let me know in the comments below.
Thank you for stopping by my blog, Glimsen, where I write about the beauty around us in nature, the arts, and the unexpected. If you like what you've read, sign up to receive my weekly blog posts and occasional updates in your inbox, and I'll send you a gift of beauty. Just click on the big blue button below to sign up.
