Author’s Photo
For me, yesterday was the first day of winter–the first day snow fell on the ground and accumulated. And though my reaction when I looked out and saw the fluffy stuff was “Snow! Yuck!”, I realize that we are fortunate to get snow this late. Some years, this area received wet snow in mid-October. One year six inches of snow fell on trick-or-treaters; another year, children going trick-or-treating walked in a mild 70°.
It’s not as though I didn’t see the possibility of snow coming. Most of the trees shed their leaves. The maples that still have their green-turning-yellow leaves are the kind whose leaves are last to change; when I see those trees changing, I know it’s November. The woods across the creek have that “November-ish” look about them: the bright colors of fall are gone, and the only colors left are the somber black, grey or brown tones of tree trunks against the green of the pines and other evergreens. The constellation Orion is back in the night sky after going away on summer vacation. Our area had some frosts; I’ve scraped ice off the car windows two or three times now. So I’ve had fair warning.
Yesterday was a variably-cloudy day. One minute, the sun shone brightly in a beautiful blue sky; ten minutes later snow fell so heavily it was close to dangerous white-out conditions. During milder periods I threw some black-oil sunflower seeds out for the birds (another sign of winter for me), brought a swing in from the back yard, and put two winter tires in the trunk of the car for my appointment today to have winter tires put on.
Why all the anguish about the snow, when I knew the time was coming? I guess it’s because Monday was 60° and beautiful, and I’d like to see the warmer weather hang on for awhile longer!
©P. Booher
Country Ripples 
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