SNOW FOR THE SOLSTICE

When Jasper the cat woke me up this morning, his fur was wet and his nose was cold. It was 7:00 AM and pitch dark outside, except for an eerie glow that came from the white coating that had appeared on the ground during the night. As I sat typing, taking care of e-mail that had arrived overnight, I watched the fluffy snowflakes fall in the light shining from the window and thought about what a perfect scene it was with snow on the shortest day of the year. Eventually the black sky started turning faintly pink in the southeast, and by 8:30 it’s as light as it’s going to get given the dense cloud cover and the low position of the sun. Snow is still falling in huge, clumpy flakes.

I’ve always been fascinated by watching snow fall. Living in a place where a significant amount of snow is unusual, there’s something magical, exotic and romantic about it. I know snow is no fun in a place where it’s a regular occurrence and sticks around more than a few days, but here where we only get a snow accumulation once every few years, it’s a special event.

This gorgeous snow day is the perfect occasion to mark the changing of the seasons and the fact that days will start getting longer soon. Here’s wishing you all a happy winter solstice (or a happy summer  solstice if you’re down under)! 

[I haven't gone outside with my camera yet today, so the snow photo is one taken a few years ago, back when our now-mature palm tree was still young and cute. I like it because it shows the snowflakes falling. The "solstice-flower" photo is one that I took earlier this fall, when the sun was just starting to get lower in the sky.]