Snow on Snow

Sometimes the wonders of the world come to you.  Sipping hot chocolate while watching my world transformed into white, I was reminded of the first verse of Christina Rosetti's Christmas carol:

In the bleak midwinter Frosty wind made moan,
Earth stood hard as iron, Water like a stone
Snow had fallen, snow on snow,
Snow on snow on snow, In the bleak midwinter...

Only this was not "long ago," but right now, and I was living through Washington D.C.'s snowiest winter on record.  It started out as the snowiest December on record, followed by an end-of -January weekend storm that canceled church for icy roads, followed by an overnight storm that closed schools for a day, followed the next week by two blizzards that shut down everything--the schools for an entire week and the federal government most of the week as inadequate snow removal equipment attempted to clear paths in over 3 feet of snow so that life could restart.

For some it was a difficult time with fallen trees and without power or heat.  My inconveniences were small--having to dig a path to the bird feeders (after the 2nd blizzard we had to feed them in the yard because the fence gate could not be opened) and shoveling out cars.  A very kind neighbor surprised us by shoveling our mound of steps!

So now as snow mountains are beginning to melt, filling potholes with muddy, salty puddles and I am struggling with rescheduling meetings and catching up at work, I find I miss those quiet moments of reflection when time stood still and we were held captive by the swirling snows.   Grab a cup of cocoa and enjoy my slideshow of snow transformations.
Click link for slide show: (hit black "box" above white print to start)
Snow on Snow

March 3, 2010 Postscript:  Signs of Spring