Last night it snowed.
That might not seem like much to you but snow is rare here. Rare as diamonds and – in my opinion – more beautiful. The newsman said it’s the first real snowfall here in 30 years and I can believe it. Everyone in Texas seemed outside last night, marveling at the soft white flakes that melted on the hot asphalt but managed to survive on the trees and grass and patio chairs. There were family snowball fights at midnight between kids who’d never seen snow and parents who knew that sleep on a school night was well worth missing for such a rare event.
And in the morning the snow was still there. Only an inch or so, and patchy, but beautiful. And we all stared at our houses anew and in awe, as if decorator elves had come in the middle of the night to repaint everything we thought we knew. We were trapped in driveways by tree limbs heavy with snow that suddenly sagged and blocked our way. We were baffled when the car wipers wouldn’t push the snow off the windshields and we searched like terrible MacGyvers to find tools to brush it all off. (I used a stuffed monkey puppet and a plunger. My neighbor used a leaf-blower and yardstick. We were as successful as you would imagine.)
Dorothy Barker whines at the door to be let out, but it’s a hesitant whine. One in spite of herself. It’s raining now and she hates the rain so she must really need to go.
We stand under an umbrella outside and she looks miserable but she pushes forward into the patches of snow that are still left. She smells the place she always smells and for the first time I see the animal tracks. Deer, I think. Or foxen. Small feet. And suddenly I can see the world she smells, and how she puts together stories with her nose that are only revealed to me through snow. She looks at me as if to say, See. I told you. I nod. She wins.
I notice something so strange…the rain continues but the streets shine with bright sunlight. I walk out into the street and close my umbrella. There’s no rain there. I can’t understand it at first and I look all around me until I’m certain of it.
The trees are raining.
The trees are raining and I don’t understand. But then I do it. The new snow in the leaves is melting so quickly it’s created a downpour. I stand in the street with my dog and we watch the rain come down all around us while we feel the warming sun. My neighbor says it’s like being under God’s protection. I say it’s like being Storm from the X-Men. Dorothy Barker says nothing because she’s a dog and anyway I suspect dogs are used to feeling like God-blessed superheroes.
If I lived north this would probably seem normal. If I lived north I would probably not have driven all over my neighborhood to see the places I don’t even really see anymore transformed by the snow. If I lived north I would have probably thought the people stopping their cars in the middle of the road to take pictures of white-topped bushes were crazy. We were all crazy, and we knew it could not last.
But I didn’t expect this. This second weather phenomenon. I didn’t expect the trees to become storm clouds. I’ve been alive for more than 40 years and I’ve never seen this…I’ve never seen trees rain.
I whisper, It makes me wonder what else I haven’t seen yet.
You haven’t seen the foxen, Dorothy Barker seems to say (with a little more superiority than necessary if I’m being honest).
It’s true though. It’s a nice reminder. There are things I haven’t seen yet.
It’s time to get busy.
PS. The 8th Annual James Garfield Christmas Miracle is going on now. If you want to help, go through the comments and find a child in need. It’s the most wonderful feeling. Like walking in tree rain.
I’m not a fan of snow. It’s too cold and slippery. I like warm and moist weather. Oh for a life in the tropics. Enjoy your snow. I hope summer here is warm (not hot) and humid.
So beautifully written that I teared up. And no one from Arizona would think you strange for staring at the snow. You should see us when it rains.
We got 3″ on our little acreage to the east of you. The feral peacock, cat and dogs were not as enchanted as I was.
http://survivalknitting.blogspot.com/
Beautiful poetry, beautiful pictures.
Looks just like a Christmas card! Beautiful!
Stunning.
It was raining in interior Alaska last night. 35° and raining, after considerable snow accumulation. There is a visible sheet of ice covering all the roads, and our trees, too, are bent over with the weight of the snow and ice.
The picture you posted is beautiful. Who cares how weird anyone thinks you are; revel in the beauty while it’s there. Thank you for this post.
You are a true poet and an inspiration!! Thank you ❤️
Honestly, snow is a little less magical when it’s being driven into your face by 40 mile an hour winds and the temps, without windchill, are under 20…but it’s important to appreciate that it can still be beautiful. Somewhere, snow is being beautiful.
Jenny, I’ve been loving all these posts from the heartland about the rare snowfall. I live in snow for 6 months of the year and last year, we had our worst snowfall in nearly 30 years, so we come at this white stuff from different perspectives. BUT, what I love is how yours has made me feel elated about it again, for you, on your behalf. I still get the glee and the jubilation, the wonder and the awe, I just don’t ever feel it myself anymore. Thanks for showering some of that on me. Truly. Smooch!
This was so beautiful to read. Makes me miss the snow. Especially in the apocalyptic feeling world of Southern California these days.
You just inspired me in a way I cannot put into words. Beautiful, Jenny. The snow, Dorothy Barker and you.
I live in northern Minnesota and I have always enjoyed my winter wonderland. It WHY I live here I hate the heat and MN is my safe haven. I am in utter awe when reading this and it’s good to know that you southerners don’t take for granted what I always knew was magic. I love your way with words just as the snow is beautiful so are the words you used to describe it. This is amazing. And thank you for appreciating snow for something other then an annoyance. 😊❤️❄️☃️⛄️
I’m from Minnesota and I still think snow is beautiful. There are days after a fresh snowfall when it takes my breath away.
It’s a marvelous thing to be reminded of how much more wonder there is to experience. May it always be thus.
And I was sitting here in Houston, looking out my window at the snow remaining on the bushes, and the roofs and thinking the news was wrong, it’s still snowing…until I realized it was the tree snowing; not the sky. 😀
❤️❤️❤️
I live in Alaska. I still stare at the snow in the trees with a sappy smile on my face because it is so beautiful. Love that y’all got to experience it too!
Loved reading this! It really made me smile. I live in Northern Michigan and while snow is so much more common here, like 200 plus inches a winter, your take on it reminded me of how beautiful it truly is. My neighbors, the ones I speak to and the ones I ignore are mostly grumpy this time of year. They hate moving snow every morning and every night and they feel like it’s a curse I am certain. I love it and I think it’s because pf the little kid in me who will roll snowballs into snowmen, stop to marvel at the snow covered tree branches, and even stick my tongue out to taste a snowflake. Not salty at all!
Thank you for this post from you, southerner appreciating the beauty of snow. I hope you get to make a snowman soon!
This was so beautiful. Thank you for sharing!
Such a beautiful post. Thanks for the reminder to look at all the familiar places with fresh eyes some times.
(Just watch out for those trees if it ever drops below freezing. Trees also drop ICE, and that’s dangerous)
I live in an area where snow is normal(Maryland) but that first snow of the season always feels special. I will be staring out the window tomorrow at our snow like I’ve never seen it before..and then later I will be grumbling as I clean off the front walk because we have company coming.
I’m from the north, and yes, this is all normal to us, but I loved seeing it all anew from your eyes!
I live in Michigan so unfortunately snow is quite common for us … we got our first snow the other day. I could see it being beautiful and magical if you live in Texas, though 🙂 I saw quite a few FB friends posting about it.
I love snow, and just winter in general. It’s not a mystery on Ontario or anything, but you summed up kind of how I feel about it.
I forgot how magical snow can be…I live in Wyoming where snow is normal. This winter my son is reminding me by pointing and saying, “nooooo?” It’s awfully sweet. Enjoy your nooooo? (My son always say it like a question).
I grew up in a small town where it snowed a lot. There is nothing more magical than standing in a snowstorm where big giant fluffy flakes are drifting slowly to the ground. It gets so quiet out, like everything and everyone is holding their breath and watching the snow fall. As a kid I always knew when I woke up if it had snowed while I slept because the light coming in my window was different. More sparkly or something. I love snow and I can just imagine how exciting it was for kids who had never seen it before.
I FOUND THIS POST PROFOUNDLY BEAUTIFUL. THANKS JENNY!
I’m glad you were blessed with a gorgeous bit of snow. The perfect snow, to my mind – sticks to the grass and trees and houses and makes them beautiful, but leaves the streets clean so no one has to shovel. I’ve heard it dripping off the trees before, but never has it warmed up so much I’ve experienced it as raining from the trees – that sounds uniquely beautiful.
We haven’t had any snow yet–it’s unusual, and while I’m not a fan of winter, I miss it. Hopefully we’ll get a sprinkle by Christmas. Thank you for such an eloquent tribute to snow–you are as unique and beautiful as a snowflake:-)
We didn’t get any in DFW, and everyone else is complaining about it. I personally am happy for y’all. Though it’s rare, we DO get a bit sometimes, and I like seeing how special it is for y’all! It’s been fun seeing everyone’s social media posts, especially my goddaughter’s of the UT Austin tower will snow flurries all around it, and you and Hailey!
Beautifully written.
Dear lord, I hate snow so damn much, I can’t wait to retire to a place where it rarely snows. This? This made me weep. It reminded me of being little when every time it snowed, it was the best one yet. It reminded me of my long-gone pup who behaved as if every new snowfall was the first one she’d experienced even if it had snowed the day before. Facebook has come alive with southern & Texan snow. A friend who lives north of me in Maine posted a picture of her little granddaughter grinning from ear to ear while standing behind her first Alabaman snowwoman. A friend who moved to Georgia a couple of years ago and is still homesick for NH, posted over a dozen pictures of everydamnthing in sight covered with snow and joy. Thank you for reminding me that when it snows in Texas and Georgia and Alabama, it’s good for all of us.
Beautiful. I’m so glad people were able to take a moment to enjoy it. I’m waiting for that first good snow here in Southeast Wisconsin. You’ve gotten more than we have so far this winter. We might get some tonight – which would be perfect – because then we can enjoy it over the weekend, and not have to rush through it like we usually do. It would be so nice to take some time to enjoy it like you did.
Thank you for your beautiful writing. (BTW – Credit Cards are great for getting ice off of windshields, just don’t use one of your good ones – in case it snaps!)
How lovely of you to share your snowfall, I could feel the tree rain…and I loved it!
This is so beautiful and just seams to say no matter how dark the darkness is around you that there is still beauty left to be seen in the world. To keep going because you may never know when a day of beautiful wonder will happen. I can’t wait to see trees rain
Your writing combined with that picture makes the think of the very last Calvin and Hobbes that was ever published. I’ll link it below:
https://i.pinimg.com/originals/7c/7d/e6/7c7de671e6fc75eb38c84afe0f3fd589.jpg
I do live north,and still marvel every year at the first snowfall. It’s always beautiful and makes my heart happy. All snowfalls are not alone, and we’re lucky if we get the beautiful diamond crystal snow that happens with very cold temps once it twice a year. I❤❄!
What a beautiful description of global climate change.
That was just beautiful, Jenny, thank you.
I’ve lived in Canada my whole life, and we all still post pictures of the first snow, and the kids act like they’ve won the lottery — even if it isn’t a snow day. I love summer
I’m so glad Dorothy Barker got to experience snow! And you, too! I’m sure your cats are insiders, but cats in snow are hysterical. Lift one foot…. shake…set down. Look disgusted. Repeat until they get somewhere, ANYWHERE, that’s not snow.
We don’t get much here, but we get enough (and I endured enough living in other, colder regions) that I tend to see snow with a mix of dread and wonder. I want to just enjoy the loveliness of it, and if I know I can stay inside and just see the pretty, it’s all good. If I know I’m going to be forced to navigate it in my vehicle, it’s not all good. If there’s so much that I’ll be required to clear the driveway, sidewalk, and walkway, it’s reeaally not good.
But your sense of the beauty and magic of it, how it revealed things you couldn’t see and created a micro-rain system all its own — breathtaking (and the photo, too — wow). When our first snow comes, I’ll remember this, and I’ll see it all with new eyes.
Thanks, Jenny. For so very much. Thanks.
I live in a southern part of Canada, so we get lots of snow, but not as much as other parts of Canada. And we often get snow for a while, then we’ll get a couple warm days and sometimes rain, so the snow will mostly melt….then we get cold and snow again. Makes it good and icy!
I LOVE the snow! Other people around me are cranky about the snow, they only see the bad. The mess it makes, the higher cost to heat homes in the cold, the cost or time of snow removal, etc. But somehow snow is one thing I’ve never become cranky about. Every time it snows I see it as you just have. As a wonderful weather event that blankets my whole world and makes it fresh and new and beautiful. It hides all the bad. And oh man, those mornings where there’s fresh snow and bright sunshine? The snow is dazzling as it glitters like diamonds. And sometimes if the sky is right, and the snow is new, the whole world glows blue as the sun comes up over the horizon. I hope I never lose the feeling of excitement and wonderment 🙂
That was beautifully written. We’re probably not far away from you. Last night the last thing I wanted was to be indoors… SNOW! IN SAN ANTONIO!!! While stuck in traffic I looked over at the car next to me & the man inside just smiled. We were both feeling the same excitement. We were all kids again, if only for one magical evening.
You have more snow in Texas than we do in central Minnesota. Climate change is whack, y’all.
Congratulations on getting snow before Boston this winter!
From up north myself and LOVE winter snow. I don’t take it for granted, the quiet nights, the strange footprints of critters, sometimes it sparkles like diamonds when the sun hits it just right. Not a fan of hot weather but love our summers too for the cool nights. I guess I get the best of both worlds. Glad you thought it was as beautiful as I do.
I saw this on the news last night (in Massachusetts) and thought of you.
We’re expecting 4-8 inches in MA this weekend. I WISH it were still magical. Sadly, hockey never cancels and I’ll be driving my son an hour in the storm Saturday to his game. All the while wishing I were in Texas.
I’m used to your humor writing, but your non-humor prose is just so beautiful and artful. Thank you for sharing.
This post made me smile! I live in Iowa… we don’t have any snow yet this year. It’s been unseasonably warm. Regardless, every year I wonder at the first snowfall and how magical it makes everything look. And then I’m super over it by the end of winter 🙂
I’m from El Paso so I know exactly what you’re talking about (and I hear from friends and family that it snowed there too yesterday). I didn’t experience a white Christmas until I was about 12 or 13 years old when the planets aligned just right and we had our one and only annual snowfall on Christmas Eve. I remember running outside to look at the pine tree my Dad had planted in the front yard and it looked like a magical outdoor Christmas tree. Absolutely beautiful! I live in Northeastern Oklahoma now so snow is a little more common and more of a nuisance than beautiful. I’m glad there are some places where overnight snow and raining trees are still magical. Thank you for reminding me to view the world through a different lens. 🙂
Last night was a miracle. It was a curative for all the woes of late. Isn’t it something to watch the world you know transformed for a brief time? I feel that way about Halloween and Christmas decorations… For a time my house is something beautiful and alien and I can pretend that instead of being trapped here by illness all the time I am vacationing in some fairytale land where there are twinkle lights to eat dinner by instead of harsh overhead lighting. I’m always a little depressed when convention forces me to put them away in January and hope they still work come next November.
Wish I could have stood in the middle of the storm with you, I bet that was a sight.
This… I think this every time there’s a fresh snowfall and I can “see” what my dogs smell!
“She smells the place she always smells and for the first time I see the animal tracks. Deer, I think. Or foxen. Small feet. And suddenly I can see the world she smells, and how she puts together stories with her nose that are only revealed to me through snow. She looks at me as if to say, See. I told you. I nod. She wins.”
You captured how we feel about snow in Central Texas so magically. Normal for some, but strange and beautiful for us.
California is on fire … please share your snow and ‘tree rain’ with us. Or at least prayers.
Did you feel the snow in your bones? Just curious because you do have the rain superpower!
Lovely post, just like the snow pix…and God I miss Calvin and Hobbes.
They’ve only just upgraded our internet at work and suddenly things that were blocked from us aren’t blocked anymore. This was such a gift to be the first Bloggess post I was able to read in ages.
This was beautiful. I’ll look out for rain trees the next time it snows here. I’m north, but Pacific Northwest, so we don’t get a lot of snow either. I like that it’s still magical.
Jenny, how beautiful…your description, your photo…thank you so much for sharing the magic with us! oxoxo
My brother in Boston just gave me his old car and was like, “It has 4-wheel drive, but we only ever used that in the snow. You won’t have to worry about it.” Today I got to text him back all, “Funny story…”
This was a lovely post, by the way. Thank you for sharing it. #TeamDorothyBarker
Being born and raised in Western Canada, snow is a yearly annoyance. I have a hate/love relationship with it, and yes I mean hate/love and not the other way around. I hate the cold and the wet and as an already nervous passenger, I HATE being in a moving vehicle in it. I do love seeing it from the warmth and comfort of my home though. This post reminded me that something I take for granted, something as annoying as snow, can be beautiful and a treasure to someone else, and I can’t help but apply the metaphor to myself, even though there are times I see myself as undesirable I should remember that I’m only looking at myself from my perspective and to others I may be rare and beautiful, like snow in Texas. ❤
It’s supposed to snow here tomorrow. Sadly, I’m not in the mood. I left work early, in tears, today. Told them i’m sick. Someone actually told me to put on my big girl panties and get back to work. How rude…and demeaning. She doesn’t get mental illness. I know that. But i still hoped for some compassion.
Your photo is awesome.
Thank you.
This is a beautiful post! I LOVE your description! It is good to look with fresh eyes and from an angle we do not normally take.
“And suddenly I can see the world she smells, and how she puts together stories with her nose that are only revealed to me through snow. She looks at me as if to say, See. I told you. …”
You can always come and visit us to see more snow. We had to brush our cars off this morning and mine’s covered in snow again.
And a broom is the best thing to use if you don’t have a snow brush, fyi. 🙂
I am a born and bred Bay Stater, and I still love snow. I’ll admit, after the 12 FEET we got a few winters ago, I did go a bit snowmad, but all in all? it’s my favorite time of the year.
More beautiful writing – thank you.
We enjoyed our unexpected snow in Houston. I’m glad I had to get up at 6 a.m. today because it did not last long.
It snowed today here, too. We live just outside New Orleans, so it’s not the short of thing we see very often either. But it has been so beautiful!!!
I live in Canada, so the beauty of snow is often lost on me. Thanks for reminding me how magical it can be.
This snow post is lovely.
I live in Washington, and I do get snow every year, but this year I haven’t seen it yet. Yesterday we had hard frost that stayed on the trees all day. When the wind blew on the high branches, tiny bits of frost fell down. The trees were snowing. 🙂
<3, Other Jenny
“She smells the place she always smells and for the first time I see the animal tracks. Deer, I think. Or foxen. Small feet. And suddenly I can see the world she smells, and how she puts together stories with her nose that are only revealed to me through snow. She looks at me as if to say, See. I told you. I nod. She wins.” I read this as “I nod. She winks.” Welcome to my magical world, she says…
It was truly glorious to watch hell freeze over. It ended too soon.
Here in the pacific north west we have fog zones. Even when the fire hazard is extreme you can be allowed to have beachfires there, because the massive coastal trees create rain from the fog.
Love the photo. It’s certainly not the after snow photos we get in Canada.
Living in northwest Pennsylvania, I’m so used to snow(a LOT of it sometimes!) that I forget to remember how beautiful it can be. Thank you for reminding me!
It was truly amazing watching the snow come down last night. It seems silly to people who live north, even Dallas people probably, but for S.A., Austin, Corpus, and Houston it was amazing and wonderful. I sang Christmas songs while walking down my street… that’s the polar opposite of me typically…a nice snow seems to wrap up the end of 2017 in South Texas perfectly
Wow. Once again, you made me get all teary-eyed. I see snow on a regular basis and have lived way north, but seeing snow through your eyes reminded me of how beautiful it really is.
I love snow like this so much. It doesn’t snow often here, either (or in the places I grew up). When I see it coming down, it always makes me feel so serene.
I know I would get tired of it if I lived in a place where it was a constant companion and obstacle. But for now, it’s just so wonderful to see.
Beautifully written.
I see your words again. Lovely, lovely imagery. : )
Thank you for introducing me to Project Night Night. I made a donation and am showing it to my grandchildren so they will understand better how lucky they are.
i would love snow too – if it were only around for a day or so – instead of weeks or months. blech!
Dearest Jenny, I live in Minnesnowta, land of a bazillion blizzards. But seeing the snow through your eyes made it seem magical again. Thank you for your elegant prose!
Love love love the photo…and your gifting. I can’t do either, but I love that you are giving! I am interviewing like crazy (six interviews for 3 different jobs, two jobs I really want!)
So all I want for Christmas is a job. Then I can buy what my family wants. We have what we need. Except a job for me.
Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays.
These are snowmen who got tired of waiting for someone to build them:
https://goo.gl/images/Fz4tUh
And then there’s snow dicks. Not bullies who knock down snowmen, not kids who make snowballs out of ice. They’re weather phenomenon. Not porn.
https://goo.gl/images/D5jzkn
That was beautiful. Treasure your gift of wonder and never care what other people think. It is rare to really see how precious and ephemeral and marvellous the commonplace really is. We will miss it when it’s gone. Thanks for sharing. I always love you, but this really means a lot. “Trees raining.” Here in Oregon it does that quite often, yet it is pretty cool. Still, I don’t quite think I ever made the connection.
That looks so magical and beautiful. You are so lucky to have snow. I live in Australia and I’ve never seen snow. It’s on my bucket list. I want to see it. I want to feel it. I want to touch it. I want to see if it has a texture. I want to know if you can smell it. The smell of rain can be exciting. I want to know if the smell of snow brings excitement. Most of all I want to try to see the individual snowflakes to see if I can see the gorgeous patterns they are made of, and try to compare them to see if it’s true that no 2 snowflakes are the same.
I think you’ve got about as much snow as we’ve seen all winter so far up by lake superior all year. Thanks to climate change we’ve been 15-20° warmer than normal, throw in lake effect pushing the weather away from us. I miss snow, I am so sick of rain in the winter.
Snow dicks & impatient snowmen. Both dicks. Both weather phenomena. Not porn.
https://goo.gl/images/Fz4tUh
https://goo.gl/images/D5jzkn
Wasn’t it awesome?! I took a crap ton of pictures because it’ll probably be another 30 years before we see snow again in Central Texas. I still can’t believe it actually snowed!
I thought of you this morning when NPR was interviewing Texans playing in the snow.
You are a beautiful person with an amazing ability to put us there with you in the midst of the tree rain. Please, Jenny, never lose your sense of wonder….there is so much more to see….especially foxen.
I’m glad that you are seeing the beauty of it. If it could snow and then melt in one day, I would love snow but living in the Midwest, normally when we get snow, it sticks around a while and I hate it. I love looking at the snow from the window but shoveling it, driving in it, putting up with people who can’t drive in it and the cold…..I’ll take the heat anytime of the year! The weather sure is quirky!
Sometimes I miss excitement of waking up to a new and strange world outside my window due to the snowfall the night before. Thanks for sharing. 🙂
You almost made me appreciate living in Vermont and having to deal with snow and sleet and rain in the months to come. I’ll try to view it with a non-Northerners eyes when it hits.
I have lived in Wisconsin my entire life (50+ years) and I still get excited and take pictures of the first snowfall each year. It’s one of the reasons I stay here!
I’m from Canada… In Ontario’s “Snowbelt”… So many people here don’t appreciate the beauty of the snow and see it as just another thing that makes life harder, but thankfully so many of us still see the miracle!
There is always something magical about snow, the way it glistens and glitters, the weird way it turns blue on really cold nights, and the way it makes everything look so ethereal when it is stuck to absolutely everything after certain kinds of snowstorms.
As life gets busier we start to think that snow is just another inconvenience. I on the other hand think the world needs more people who appreciate snow and don’t just see it as something that “slows them down” on the way to work, there is something to be said for having “snow days” when we let people enjoy the miracle.
That being said… The brown disgusting slop that snow turns into as a year’s worth of magical snow starts to melt… that is a completely different matter…
I’m glad you were able to have some of our magic!
Bah. You can KEEP your snow. Snow is nasty and wet and cold and causes everybody to run to the grocery store for milk and butter and eggs and bread because each and every time we get even a sixteenth of an inch of anything that even comes close to trying to resemble snow, all of a sudden it turns into Snowpacalypse. Snowpacalypses always cause people to lose their minds and it gets tiresome. Because it…..or an ice storm..happens every dadgum year. You’d think people would learn after however many freaking years they’ve lived in Texas that this shit happens every goddamned “winter”.
This was an absolutely beautiful post. I live in Canada and we get more than enough snow but you made me think of it in a new way. I will appreciate our first snow this winter a little more thanks to you 🙂
This is the most beautifully written post I’ve read in a long time.
How beautiful!
This is so beautifully written! I always love your writing, your wit, your perspective on things. This, while no better or worse than anything else you’ve written, since it’s all incredible, made me see another side to you. And I absolutely LOVE thinking about what else I haven’t seen yet. I love thinking of all the possibilities that I don’t even know exist… Thank you…. xoxo
Living in Illinois, I’m used to knowing that November, December, January and February will have snow and I hate snow, it’s cold, it’s wet, and it’s messy…but mostly snow means it’s too cold to rain… however, you’ve made me re-think how i’ll act when we get our first snow fall with accumulation. Thank you for that…and your photograph is lovely!
You’re a poet. I don’t normally comment, but your words are just lovely. I truly enjoy seeing the world through your eyes. Thank you for sharing it with perfect strangers on the internet.
I’m in northeast Georgia, and we just got blindsided with what, in our Southerly opinions, is most definitely a blizzard. “Wintery mix” my foot! The only time we get real snow is when no one expects it, then POOF, winter wonderland! I both love and fear it, which, when it comes to Mother Nature, is as it should be.
you make everything magical. thank you.
I live where we see this sort of weather each winrer, and it NEVER gets old. Each time I see a snow-softened world it seems new, clean, peaceful, and magical. I am so happy you had a chance to experience the joy!!
I live in Calgary, Alberta, Canada and I see this stuff all the time. You should know though that the wonder never really goes away when it snows. I’ve lived on the Arctic Circle and those wonders still make me feel like I lived in a Fairy Tale Land. Lucky for you, you won’t see -40 degrees, but even that has its own wonders. The squelches of your boots on the snow that comes only when it’s that cold, the exhaust from the chimneys falling off your house to hover on the ground like fog, the crystals that form around your fur trimmed hood, the snow-white Ptarmigan with their furry little feet running out of your way. It’s magical.
Your picture is beautiful. I hope it last a little while for your viewing pleasure. :o)
… PS, this is a beautiful piece of writing. Just beautiful.
In Massachusetts we are getting our first snow tomorrow. Nice that it’s coming on a weekend, but then it’s a weekend before the holidays when everyone is out doing crazy shopping. I’ll be staying in and enjoying the view from my window.
I live in northern Colorado and we have not had snow yet this year! Global warming, eek! I don’t love icy car windshields I have to scrape, or icy steps I have to be werry, werry careful on. Or shoveling my sidewalk when I know I will be the only one on our block to do it. But I’m starting to think I’ll take all that over staring at my dry flowerbeds that look like they are calling me to do something, when I am all–but it’s winter and I want to relax! Come onnnnn man, I need that excuse to stay in doors and drink hot cider. Instead I feel guilty I’m not out riding my bike for excercise…. Oh well, I’ll get over it. Hot cider, here I come.
Today I watched traffic stop both ways so a bunch of Canada geese could cross the road in a long line. And that made me happy. The way reading this made me happy.
I’m 65 and till now had never seen or heard of the “tree rain” phenomena. Truly a unique experience for you! Lucky Ducky!
I will gladly send you some pictures of my back yard in the next few months. I live about 60 miles east of Buffalo, NY. You know, the place that gets buried with “lake effect” snow. We get the tail end of it here. Only a foot or two instead of three or four.
If you lived north you’d probably spend most of the previous day stocking up on things. Then mutter and complain about the salt eating away at your car, and the rumble and scrape of the plows at 2 am. My personal favorite is “oh come on!” when you’ve cleared the driveway and the plow races by dumping dirty snow on your just shoveled sidewalk and drive entrance.
And as a personal note for clearing cars off, brooms work. Also an umbrella with a point(just be careful) for the windshield. But you turn the car on first and blast the heat. It’s fun to watch chunks of snow slide right off the car.
Allllll the ❤! I’m in Indiana….snow’s good when it gives us a snow day.
Beautiful!
Omg yes my ex in laws in Mexico had a foot of snow
I grew up in SE Texas so I understand how you feel about snow. I remember when I was about six years old we had an extreme snowfall (for us). The snow was all the way up to my waist! Of course, I wasn’t very tall, but still… Enjoy your snow and your raining trees. I can’t wait until you have an ice storm there and you see the sun come up and turn the world into a magical wonderland. You’re gonna love it.
We could use some of that beautiful snow in Colorado!
This is absolutely wonderful. That picture is beautiful, but it’s your words that really paint the scene. I love that you got to experience this! Sometimes we take things for granted that are actually fairly amazing, and people who don’t often experience those things can better see how amazing they are. In my 15 years of living in this town in Arizona it has hailed once, and never ever snowed. I only have vague memories of going up to the mountains to play in snow when I was very young.
I love snow and I love the joy in your writing about your rare snow event.
This is a phenomenon of global climate change. Now that I know that (and it applies to weird weather patterns all over the world), it’s harder for me to feel joyful about an event like you describe. Especially when the towns where my children grew up (Ventura and Ojai, CA) are burning with no diminishment in sight.
I live in Pittsburgh, PA and I hate the cold. Why do I still live here? Because I love snow! It makes everythin beautiful.
Thought one – only you my Beloved Bloggess would be using a monkey puppet and a plunger to extricate ice from your windshield. Can you send a picture please cuz I REALLY REALLY need a visual on this!
Thought two – it is so precious to me that you mention the stories Dorothy Barker is sniffing because when my husband finally went for the first walk with my precious Chocolate Lab and me (when my pup was THREE YEARS OLD!) I groused about my pup’s inability to walk away from a mailbox or patch of grass or car tire because his nose was glued, working feverishly. My hubby said to leave my pup be for a minute cuz he was reading different magazines. I thought that was so sweet! I actually often think he’s reading a large novel, but I now let him linger, cuz who would want to be ripped away from “Furiously Happy” before the end?
Merry Christmas my crazy precious wierd blog friend! We love you!
I am way up north in Idaho, and we get snow. A lot of snow. But the FIRST snow of the season? We wait for it with anticipation. “It feels like snow today,” we say with a grin. “Yup, sure does” we nod. And then the first REAL snowfall arrives, with big fluffy flakes that muffle the noise. We know the winter holds lots of treachery ahead, because blizzards and whiteouts and black ice are real and kill people. But the first big snowfall is precious and miraculous and lovely. Word travels through the offices and schools: “It’s SNOWING!” and we grin. We look at the world changed, when we finally go out into it. We remember how staggeringly beautiful everything becomes covered in a fluffy white blanket. We scoop up snow and toss it at each other and form snow people in our yards. We catch the big flakes on our tongues and throw ourselves onto the lawn to make snow angels. Soon the novelty will wear off, and we’ll lament the slippery walks and the biting winds.
But the first snowfall of the year is glorious. So glad you got to catch a glimpse.
I live in Ohio and I’m always in awe of the snow. So beautiful. And if you get a chance to drive in a dark place in the falling snow, with your bright lights on? Do it! It’s like being in Star Wars.
It’s magical to me, always.
We don’t get the tree storms, though. Usually it’s cold enough that it doesn’t rain down on us, just falls down on us.
Or maybe I haven’t noticed one yet?
I love the cold. The heat gives me migraines and ruins my life.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/ls/ref=mw_dp_wl_v?&lid=2XMHNAP79MDKY&ty=wishlist
(Looks like you’ve got a lot of great things headed your way! ~ Jenny)
I live in south Louisiana and we were just as in awe plus a little coonass crazy because of the snow. Schools were cancelled today and I lounged all day and made gumbo!
https://youtu.be/KGOUT1mGNSY
I live in Alberta Canada and we have seen snow every month of the year except July. It does not stay but it has snowed. That photo is amazing. Does look like God shone down.
We live in PA/WV so we see snow often during winter. But that first snow that covered the grass yesterday brought happinessl. I still get as excited as a Texas kid seeing it for the first time. And when it snows a foot or more, I’m in Heaven. Everything looks like a clean, pure world for a time. The dogs go out to potty in the space I’ve cleared for them, then run and rub their faces in the snowbank, coming up with little balls of snow on their heads and snouts. All magical.
You have knocked it out of the park with the writing of this piece
and the rain in your bones entry, Jenny! I cried reading them both. So
beautiful and humble. Love the James Garfield generosity too. We live
in Australia and our special presents this year are for the women who end up
in shelters with just the clothes on their backs. Shelter staff requested tote
bags with shampoo, soap, toothbrush, tooth paste
etc.
I belong to a group of quilters from all over Tx and one in Lake Charles, LA. This morning we exchanged texts and pictures of the snow or lack thereof from Midland, Weatherford, Grapeland, Crocket, San Antonio, Harwood, Houston, and Lake Charles. A simple little thing like snow bringing joy to a scattered group of friends.
https://www.facebook.com/TEDEducation/videos/1271444302868773/
“How Dogs Smell” — interesting about their noses!
Winter is my favorite time of the year and here in North Dakota we get plenty of it. I love how the snow transforms the world in a different place, a magical wonderland. And when you get to look at a blanket of sparkling snow and smell the fresh cold air you can’t help smiling.
I’m so glad I blogged about the snow before I read this (I’m near you, north of Austin). I never would have pushed past your beauty, otherwise, to update my own online spewage. Thank you for this. When did it get so damned dusty in here?
Your writing paints such a beautiful picture. I live in Canada so this is, of course, so familiar that I sometimes forget the magic. It’s said that the Inuit have 20 words for snow, because of all the different forms it takes. My favorite is the hoarfrost that coats the trees, sparkling on a cold, sunny morning. I love living where we get four distinct seasons. You really appreciate summer when you’ve suffered through one of our long, cold winters.
I grew up in Northern NJ and went to school in the snow belt, so I have seen my fair share of snow. I thought I’d never be amazed or enchanted by it again. My kids, on the other hand grew up in the Central Coast of CA and it wasn’t until their first trip to Tahoe they actually saw snow. I remember climbing into the Sierras and suddenly seeing flakes fall from the side and our kids begging my husband to pull over so they could see real snow. Seeing it fresh through their eyes was magical.
Soooo pretty!
I like this dabbling in poetic prose. Beautiful. Like snow in the sunshine.
Beautifully written. Our last trip to San Antonio was a big mess of flash flooding in August. Texas has had quite a year.
I am glad you had a magical experience. We live in eastern PA, and are expecting snow. I HATE IT!!!!! A previous boss forced me to drive to work under very hazardous conditions, and it freaked me out so badly, I won’t drive in snow if possible, no matter how little. To compound the insult, my birthday is in the snow season, I want to retire somewhere without snow and without major heat. Hubby says good luck finding it.
This totally made me cry….I won’t take snow for granted ever again.
We have no snow right now and it feels strange being in Canada and seeing more snow in Texas than on the ground in Calgary. I love the way snow changes the way sound travels, the difference in crunch under your boots depending on the outside temperature. I love the frost on the trees. I’m so happy that you’re out enjoying it.
I live on Vancouver Island, on the West Coast of Canada. We aren’t overly “Canadian” here, going years without seeing snow as well. When it snows, even an inch (or what we like to call, 2.5cm), schools stop, the rain boots double as snow boots, and we scrape our car windows with our Starbucks cards. And yes, it feels like magic 🙂 I’m so glad you got to experience it!
I’m in PA and I love when the snow sticks to the trees like that! And even though I don’t like the cold or shoveling it, I love how the snow brings a stillness to everything. It’s peaceful. Enjoy those moments.
Curse you, you made me cry it was that beautiful.
I haven’t seen snow in SO long…. (not counting drab patches here and there the last time we drove up north to “see snow”). This was a beautiful post!
Laughing so hard. We don’t get as MUCH snow as we used to in the mid-west but still enough that this is comical. The trees raining.. and the footprints, so funny. It’s always good to see in the snow here that the deer walk right up to the windows overnight, almost like they’re looking in… very cute. Hope you all enjoyed your taste of winter weather.
terrific writing
Btw thank you jenny for the Christmas miracle.As of now I only have 2 kids to worry about to buy christmas.2 were purchased for on there and that is wonderful.You truly are amazing
A soft wet snow that ices all the world is beautiful and worth fully experiencing no matter how often it happens around you. Not all snow ices the world. But you guys got the BEST kind of snow. And because it is so rare – It’s like a gift of magic. 🙂
Thank you for a beautiful take on snow and, once again, a beautiful take on life – all with delightful humor thrown in for good measure. In recent years I have started to very much dislike winter and snow. It made me a bit sad because I remember loving snow as a child. But the other day a dear friend of mine told me winter is her favorite season. It made me stop and be glad that someone had a different perspective on this season than I did. It made me look for the parts of winter that make me smile. Sunshine coming from low on the horizon all day (wonderful for taking photos!), longer views – all the way to the coast mountain range – now that the deciduous trees are bare, getting to wear many many sweaters – my favorite garment. and now you have given me a new take on snow – thank you!! I may decide to like winter and snow again – or at least not cringe at the thought.
We live outside San Antonio. We went to Mass last night for the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception. On the way there, at 6:45, my husband said “Look at the rain. There’s a little snow in it.” He was right. During Mass, the priest talked about Biblical references to being cleansed of sin and being washed white as snow. When we came out of Mass at 8:00, it was pouring down snow. Huge, fluffy flakes. It was a lovely evening. Everything was beautiful.
Thanks for reminding me that what we New Englanders take for granted can be marvelous! (And thanks for the James Garfield Miracle. I hope I made a few kids and their parents happy yesterday.)
I’m in Alabama…it came here today…i get ir
Reading this actually made me cry a little bit. But, it’s a good cry. A hopeful cry.
Lustrous writing. And I love the photo.
Wouldn’t it be polite of those dark nights of the soul to maybe let us see them suppressing a grin at the loveliness they’re just about to reveal? Then we’d know for sure that not only does Depression Lie, it’s just some bogey wearing Pig-Pen’s Hallowe’en bedsheet costume the whole time.
Love that Dorothy got in a “Told you so.”
Hailey (meaning all of you) might enjoy my favorite ritual that my brother and I greeted the first big snow each year with- recipe per person: over bare feet, apply layers of socks, to taste. Less being better. Over each foot, one plastic bread wrapper-sack. Walk out into snow. Inspect footprints to ensure feet are making clear footprints. Adjust as necessary. Repeat until done. From home, spy out from windows as confused strangers find footprints and look around. Giggle.
Living in Canada, where snow is quite common, I was intrigued by your post. It is beautifully written and captures the magic of the first snow fall. Even though as you’ve said, those of us who are used to snow don’t stop to “smell the snow,” I think most of us would agree that the first time it snows during the winter, it is pure magic. The world transforms. But here it stays, and stays, and stays. What I find truly ironic is that you’re living in Texas where snow is a rarity. I’m living in Southern New Brunswick (Saint John), Canada where snow is supposedly common. Yet, you’ve had a snow that has stayed and we haven’t had one yet this year! And last year at home (Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada) it was 21 degrees Celsius (70 F). To all those climate change/global warming deniers, I don’t know how you can argue it’s not a thing! When I was a child in the 1980s we had to wear snowsuits under our Halloween costumes and there had always been at least one snowfall before Halloween (even though it often didn’t “stick” like your snow). I can’t remember the last time we had snow before Halloween, and it’s rare that we get it before December now. I love the image of you with your plunger and stuffed monkey puppet. If it snows here before I’ve unpacked the snow brush from it’s summer hiding spot in the cubby, I generally would pull the sleeve up on my winter coat over my arm and brush it off by stretching my body over the hood of my car. Also, if you ever get snow again, go out to your car a little early, put the defrost for your rear and front windows, jack the heat up to its highest setting and the blower thingie to its highest setting and wait about 5 minutes. The snow will melt and you should be able to just use your wipers to remove it. No plungers or monkey puppets required! Love, love, love this post and so jealous of your snow!
Also… This. Is. Snow. https://0dbjoq.bn1304.livefilestore.com/y4mKd314BixzbjfS9jb019aDNyifvj9RN8DgQ3DDMjGiiMlLb1r-WTaUaJpfknBMbMlKj3SkjLeMA5eJPkR11fyjuit-f3C5miRhctXFECHACfVkiO7NzAbBRTlCOrW-8aJZB1uH929xTIw77T6pEGXBbK521j6QjGgNkXyEbASWDSmvmYpLFeqrgI2aVPayfOg9DkKdtElfPVmUUJguqKGIw?width=600&height=384&cropmode=none
We had ten minutes of snow, that thawed ten minutes later. For those ten minutes though, everybody cheered up. It was indeed some kind of strange magic.
Lovely to read your descriptions of this event, being a northerner, I have so much fun when my southern peeps experience this type of weather event! Almost as much as sharing that the temps here at home in Iowa are several degrees LOWER than at my daughter’s in Alaska at present! WHAT??? I can see Juanita’s arms raised in crazed wonder as we speak!
This is just too beautifully written. I really needed this.
We have snow too here, a lot of roads are closed, and we are driving 30 miles an hour on the highway.
I haven’t felt this well in a long time, snow is beautiful, it never fails to amaze me and my body (i get weird headdaches from snow).
It’s time to put up the Christmas tree and go shopping for some decorations.
I haven’t felt this good for a long time and your post made me cry, the good way.
Thank you.
That’s a beautiful picture. As a New Englander, I usually laugh at people who fuss over that little snow. Thanks for reminding me why people in warmer climates act that way.
I live in the north (so north that I am in mid-Canada) and this was so beautiful that it nearly brought me to tears. Thank you for sharing your sight. I will appreciate our snow more now (for a little while, anyway).
I grew up where there was snow on the ground constantly 10 months out of the year and I hated snow.
Now I live, like you, in a place where it snows once every 8 to 10 years or so. Now, to me, snow is magical and wonderful and cause for some kind of celebration. I think that is really cool, and it makes me realize that anything, viewed a different way, is completely different and lots of things you don’t like can turn into things you do like.
The more magic and celebration the better!!
Thanks for such a beautiful post.
An Ode to Snow in Texas (disclaimer by Dorothy Barker).
Beautiful <3
What a beautiful picture, Jenny!
Your post makes all of us wonder what, yet, have we not seen!
I’ve lived around snow my entire life and have always been grateful for its magical transformation, but with one snow you managed to capture the feeling in words with utter perfection.
California girl here. But I lived in KC for seven years, drove through 8 Midwestern states in all weather for my job, and had also lived in MA for a year way back when; so I thought I was familiar with snow. (Nothing like how quiet a whole city goes after the first snow…) But the niftiest snow I ever experienced was in Texas! I was driving from Ft. Worth to Amarillo late one March night. Through a ground blizzard. Coming almost straight toward me. Get off the road, right? Nah. In the headlights it was like driving into the opening of a wormhole. Coolest. Thing. Ever.
I’m so happy you were able to experience the trees raining…. I grew up in CA and snow was very rare, but for the past zillion years I have lived in WA state. We see everything here. But, you know what? The snow – and the occasional trees raining – never ever gets old. Lucky you. ❤️
What a beautiful post. Thank you.
Such a beautiful post.
Even when it’s a regular occurrence there’s nothing like listening to the snow fall, or being in a snowy wood, or seeing the snow capped mountains or a clear cold night when the world is lit like daytime in the moonlight (I’ve never snowmobiled but I’ve heard that it’s even more brilliant where there’s no light pollution and you’re practically flying over the snow). Now the shoveling/snow blowing/power outages/frozen pipes/downed limbs/unplowed roads/general driving in it kind of sucks, but when you don’t have to be anywhere, nothing quite like it.
One of my brother’s friends is in Texas (might be San Antonio) and she had sent out a pic of her snowfall. Of course the common joke was that it was just another sign that hell was freezing over, but doesn’t mean it’s any less beautiful.
What a lovely piece! If we can bring folks together to share joy in something like this, which is outside their normal ken, perhaps there’s hope for bringing us together in other ways.
Also if you have a nylon bristled broom (or just be careful and avoid your paint job), that will usually let you clear windows/windshields if you dont have a snow brush (credit card or license or similarly shaped piece of plastic can be used for scraping, but if it’s thick, crank up the defroster or heat for a few while clearing off snow; do not use water if you can help it, the temp shock is usually worse).
Just use a broom to sweep the snow off your car . . .
I spent my preschool years down south on army bases. The only snow I remember was not more than an inch or so, but my two older sisters and I shared one pair of red rubber boots to take turns going out in it . . . my brothers were too little to appreciate it!
I have a love/hate relationship with snow because it looks lovely and it seems to bond people, but I also always end up slipping over because of my ice-activated clumsiness. I recently moved to a place where it never snows and, while it’s a relief for gravity reasons, this just made a me tiny bit wistful.
Beautifully written Jenny. I’m all tingly inside now. Is that TMI?
I thought that I lived far enough south….but now I need to move. We had 6 inches of the white stuff (don’t say its name three times!) and my power was out for 24 hours. The trees here are raining today. When I went to the grocery earlier they looked like giant cotton bushes.
What a wonderful post! I’ve lived in Illinois all my life, and I TRY not to take the beauty of snow for granted. (Now that I’m a grown-up, I dislike driving in it. Give me a window seat, a good book, and a cup of hot chocolate, and THEN I’ll enjoy the snow.) Thank you, Jenny, for opening our eyes again.
Strikingly different from your usual writing, but a joy to read. You’ve captured the wonder of a first snowfall exactly (and we do still wonder at it up here in the North when we don’t have to shovel out to get to work or school – for about a minute). You’ve got talent, Jenny!
That was beautifully written.
We moved to San Antonio to escape the snow… Needless to say, we weren’t as excited as everyone else.
“we searched like terrible MacGyvers to find tools to brush it all off”
My first thought- don’t you people own brooms? That’s my go-to when I’m too late/lazy or I can’t get in the car to get the snowbrush.
6″ over Monday night. Not our first snowfall, but still everything looks pretty.
I am not in Texas now, but sometimes I am. It rarely snows where I am in the UK, but by a bizarre stroke of fate, your snow and ours arrived simultaneously.
It’s amazing to me you guys got more snow than us. We’ve not had a good snow since 2013 but man we’ve been praying for a blizzard for years now lol
You are a fantastic writer and I loved this post
Hi Jenny! What a fantastic read! Especially the insight to what Dorothy Barker is smelling! I’m in Chicago, but there is still something magical about snow, even after 56 years of regular viewing.
I’m not sure how to say this, which is why I didn’t post it yesterday, but I need to say something. I know you’re an excellent writer, but there are different aspects to writing, and I until reading this, I thought of your strengths as being observational. Noticing things, combining words in creative ways (Best Pet Names Ever), emotional insights. I didn’t realize you are also a champion at descriptive writing. I’m not sure how to distinguish the two — hence my confusion — since they are both forms of insight. But I think of you having emotional insights, not physical or sensory insights. But here you were painting with words, having that same gift painters have of SEEING, not interpreting at first, but perceiving the raw sensations and THEN processing them AND then describing them magnificently. I’m blithering. What I’m trying to say is, this is great writing in a dimension I didn’t previously realize you are a great writer. Thank you.
And, you threw in an observational or relationship insight too. I NEVER would have thought of snow revealing the world to us as a dog smells it by making the normally invisible visible. Brilliant.
I’m sure I’m the millionth person to point this out, but does it ever pester you that the same brain that tortures you so much of the time is also the brain that comes up with the brilliant stuff? Do you ever wonder if your creativity and your dysfunction are parts of the same thing, or if they are separable? John Green once went off his OCD meds because he thought they were blocking him from writing and wound up worse off. It’s not like madness is necessary for art. But it IS the same brain doing both — the beautiful and the terrible. You suffer the terror alone (well, some of it seeps out in diluted form to those around you) and we all benefit from the beauty. That’s unfair.
I wish you could be less terrorized by your mind and still have the same magnificent creativity. I do NOT think losing one would necessarily lose the other. Even if it did, the bargain might be worth it. But I am glad that you did get the creativity along with the terror, and that you share the results with us.
If this comment section has a character limit, I’m over it.
I’m a few miles north of you. The little girl up the street pounded on our door to make sure my daughters didn’t miss it. I felt warm and community-y.
Excellent post. I am from Texas, but I have lived north for most of my adult life. I’m going to forward this to my daughter, who lives in Austin, and my best friend, who lives in Seguin. It will be very meaningful to them.
This was posted in the Nextdoor app. A lady from my neighborhood. I told her about the James Garfield miracle and forwarded her the link. I’m not sure she included the link to her wish list. I’m not even sure the miracle is still going on. I wish I could have done more for her but this was all I could think of. Maybe she did post them. If so please forgive me if I’ve overstepped my boundaries.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/registry/wishlist/ref=cm_wl_search_24?ie=UTF8&cid=A3D0T2VE1O0DLP
I am posting on here because I can’t post or ask on Facebook because the person I am asking for help with will know and I don’t want her to keep her hopes up. I have a 13 year old sister in law that needs help this Christmas, it’s her first Christmas this year with her biological dad that is on SSI and doesn’t get that much only to cover bills, her biological mom left with her when she was a baby, she lost her biological mom the beginning of this year and is now with her dad she has been through a lot and we would really like to be able to give her a good Christmas but just don’t have the funds to do so, I don’t even have the funds to get my daughter that is 2 months old anything and I am really not even worried about it because she won’t remember anyway. But if anyone can help the 13 year old girl it would really be heaven sent I have asked a couple of churches but they are only helping their members and nursing homes. I’m posting on here to ask for help because I don’t want her to see that we are asking for help and get her hopes up she is aware that money is tight. I spent all the money we had making sure there was a Christmas dinner so any help would be greatly appreciated.
I ~heart~ this post! I’m from the North, where snow is less magical and more OhFuck…and we never have raining trees, because cold. We have a light dusting this morning, one first for my house, and I did look out in wonder at the pretty of it all.
What a beautiful post! It’s interesting in that it demonstrates in a huge way how much one’s perspective colors your impression of the world. I live in Ohio, and I hate driving in the snow and enduring cold temperatures that often dip below 0 degrees for five or six months every year like many who posted similar comments above. However, the first snowfall of the year is always beautiful, and the stillness and glory of the contrast between the snow against the dark trees at night in my backyard in the soft glow of a full moon can be breathtaking, However, once night yields to day, and you’re forced to go outside during the day and deal with the practicalities of the snow-covered streets is a daily nightmare. I hate the fact that the snow can usurp your ability to control your car, which often turns freeways and side streets into death traps. I was driving home once on I-64 when I lived in West Virginia, and we had 5 or 6 inches of fresh snow on top of an inch of ice from freezing rain the night before. I rounded the top of a very steep rise, and I saw a truck had jack-knifed in the middle of the freeway about 50 feet below me. It was sprawled out across both lanes. In a panic, I hit the breaks, and my car skidded down the hill, careening toward the truck. I thought for certain my Nissan was going to become truck fodder as my car when somewhere deep inside my brain, I heard my father’s voice saying something about pumping your brakes if your car starts to slide. I did just that, and that slowed my rushing descension toward the truck enough that I stopped about 2″ from the middle of that gigantic, lame vehicle! Thank God, I wasn’t injured, and the truck driver said he’d already alerted the Sheriff’s department about his predicament over the radio (because this was 2-3 years before anyone really had cell phones), and after my breathing returned to normal, I managed to navigate around the truck via the shoulder and arrived home safely about 30 minutes later. That said, while I appreciate your awe and wonder in regard to the rare blanketing of snow upon the trees and such, I still hate snow…:) But THANKS for sharing! ~Lynne Logan, Columbus, Ohio (LloganOH on Twitter)
One of my favorite posts of yours…I’m so glad you got to see a glimpse of the magic of snow we North people secretly treasure in our hearts and wouldn’t trade for the world…despite complaining about the commute through it.
Oh Jenny, this was so beautiful. I’m in the midst of a lot of money worries (taxes, HDHP, student loans), and the usual time crunches. But I haven’t seen everything yet, and I need to remember to isolate a chunk of beauty in a day.
I live in Minnesota, so this is my world view a good portion of the year. It’s fun to hear someone comment on the magic that hasn’t really had it before. Reminds me of the good I have here (while I’m feeling frozen to the core), and to look at it differently now and then!
I know how u feel! i live in hot tropical and snow is amazing to me.. i got to see it in Italy earlier this week.
I spent a year in London, England and there was no snow that year, except for on New Year’s Day when I was as in Edinburgh with friends. My friend Vanessa was from Perth, Australia and had never seen snow before. It was magical seeing it as if for the first time. We threw snowballs, and made angels and carried armfuls of it upstairs to punish Rachel for refusing to get out of bed to come play. I’m glad you got a chance to enjoy it, and thanks for reminding me again to look at it with fresh eyes.
In the North, the snow sparkles like glitter under the sun. It’s brilliant and blinding and peaceful. There are days where the soft muffled crunch beneath your feet echos under the silence of snowfall. The otherworldliness of snow on plowed roads piled so high, it’s above all the street signs. It is wondrous, and magical and otherworldly.
I HATE snow and the cold and winter, but you made that sound beautiful…..jen
How is it that you can always make me feel understood. And that its going to be OK. There is hope.
I grew up in San Antonio then moved to the mountains in New Mexico. My favorite snow discovery that I think you would get a kick out of is that if the snow is pretty wet (barely freezing when it snows) it will clump in the trees. And then if it gets a bit windy the trees begin to throw snowballs. I spent a while looking for kids who had thrown them before discovering it was actually the trees.
it’s has been pretty rough on this single mother this last year being homeless with my beautiful 2 year old daughter Evangeline nothing’s are starting to look better then it has with roof over our head this winter and not having to sneak into random vacant apartments nightly all I wanted was for her to have at least one present this Christmas so anyone that will be willing or can help out I would be Beyond extremely grateful and very thankful wanted to wish everybody happy holidays and be safe Blessed Be
I live farther north and snow is more common. When we get snow and then it warms up (not common, but not unusual), we get the rain from the trees. Previously, it would just be an annoyance. Your post put that in a very different perspective and I thank you for it.
Also, I think snow collects or concentrates scent. I have bassets and they go absolutely BSC when it snows. It is 10 degree wind chill outside and they are still outside plowing their noses through the snow and refusing to come in. It is like some smorgasbord of scent. How very nice that Dorothy Barker shared that with you.
8)
(back to lurking and reading and enjoying)
I now live way up north in a ski town – I love snow! – but remember being a kid in San Antonio when we got a foot and a half of snow. You can look up old news clips online about it. Hell, even where I live now, that’s a lot of snow to get at once!
I also saw a white Christmas in New Orleans in 2004. It wasn’t very much but it was actual snow. Kind of mindblowing.
It’s beautiful. I live in the north so it’s common up here but to see it through your eyes – I hope my daughter in law took the grandkids out last night to see it too!
What a beautiful view. As I sit here in my car defrosting the windows and hoping not to lose a few fingers to frostbite, reading about how something I take for granted like trees raining helps me to appreciate things like a change in seasons I enjoy here in the Pacific Northwest. And how my Texan relatives might not know that trees rain. Thank you for the perspective!
Up here in the Great White North it snows a lot but it is usually quite cold when it does so the snow melts slowly or not at all. The phenomenon of tree rain is something I have never seen and I think it requires a warm southern clime combined with a freak snowstorm. So you got something extra special there!
One my favorite snow-removal tools is the Scrape-A-Round. A fortunate MacGyver might find a funnel useful in a pinch. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3TwSCs9Rjtk
And this is why I love you. Thank you for this imagery.
Being from Montreal, we certainly don’t lack in the snow department! It only started snowing yesterday and it makes everything a little bit more magical for the holidays! xo
Useless information to tuck away: Items that can and have been used to scrape your car windows: Cassette tape covers, CD covers, old credit or membership cards, spatulas, be creative, anything flat. BTW, do not poor hot water on your windows.
You are an amazing writer, Jenny. I live in Minnesota and you’ve made me see the snow with entirely new eyes. Thank you!
I agree with Gary Lum (comment #1) but also love your wonder. Just beautiful.
Good makeshift window scraper is a CD case – it will take the snow (or frost) of your windows in a heartbeat 🙂
http://comn509@gmail.com my link don’t if I did this right I hope so I’m hoping
This is quite possibly my favorite post you’ve ever written. Simply lovely.
I grew up in Southern California and distinctly remember an event just like this that happened ONCE in my childhood. It was the lightest dusting of snow, and I was so awe-struck by it. Everyone was. In fact, all the local schools shut down for a “snow day,” because…why not? When do they ever get to shut down for a snow day in SoCal? When I was a teenager, my family moved to the Northwest. Snow days are more common up here, but it is usually a result of the roads being extremely icy, or so much snow has accumulated that the plows haven’t been able to keep up and dig everyone out. Much like your snow day, my childhood one in SoCal had no snow on the streets, and driving conditions were really not affected. We were all just so excited to experience the snow that the schools let us have the day to do it. I recall gathering ALL the snow on my front lawn to make a small 10″ high snow man. When everything started to melt, I was devastated at the thought of losing my newly formed friend. Needless to say, my mom was not impressed when she went to clean out our freezer a couple months later and found a block of grassy ice tucked into the back. When we moved to the Northwest, at first I was very excited for winter, but it only took a year or two for the excitement to wear off before I was “over it.” Sometime during my college years, I began to appreciate the snow again, and I once again find it magical. I loooooove the snow and do a happy dance every time it snows. Every. Time. So here we sit, less that 2 weeks away from winter without a snowflake in sight. I’m anxiously awaiting for it’s arrival and doing every snow dance I know in hopes of having a white Christmas, because any other kind of Christmas now feels wrong to me. I’m so glad you got to enjoy the wonder of snow where you are, no matter how brief. That snow day in SoCal has stuck with me all these years, as I’m sure this memory will for you.
Another lyric masterpiece. You write with such beauty I can see it. I am Wisconsin’s now via Virginia and Florida. Snow, at least the first snow is still magical to me.
What a beautiful post. It made me cry. It’s the season of wonder, and there you were, surprised by something
Maybe you don’t believe in God, but I see Him sometimes in the things you write, pulling us out of the dark as you do.
Even up here in the Great Frozen North Of Wisconsin we marvel at the first real snowfall. Or at least I do. Hard to believe, but winter is even more glorious than summer here. I am glad you and yours got to experience it.
Just wanted to thank Jenny for this wonderful group. I also wanted to thank Kristie and her family for purchasing legos off of Dylan wish list on the 12th. If anyone is able to fill nickalos r wish list i would like to thank you in advance for helping this child who is autistic and loves micky mouse. This grouo is a true blessing and i plan on fulfilling a couple of list next year. God bless and merry christmas.
Hello. I am not sure how this really works. I posted on the 8th, but I am concerned that I may have set my hopes too high. I have been having a horrible kind of year. I am sure there are many others hit by the crunch of the current economy, and I should feel blessed. Well, I do feel blessed in one aspect. I was given the gift of three beautiful grandbabies this past year. Two girls and one boy. I have received several gifts for the boy, but am still hoping above hopes that something can be done for the girls. There is also a 3 year old sweet little angel girl who I could also use some help with. My children are struggling to make ends meet and I am only working 20 hours a week now and barely surviving myself. They shop at moms and I help them when I can, but right now, Christmas is not a priority. Anything that can be given would be greatly appreciated. The boys things have been removed since he now has three things, and I thank you for that, from the bottom of my heart! Hopefully, next year will be better and we can be on the giving end of this! Love and many blessings this holiday season, Michelle L.
This post made me tingle all over, and I am a wizened Northerner who thinks snow is a curse that cannot be overcome. What a beautiful thing, Jenny. Well done.
THANK YOU! I love you. I was really blue this morning. Still am drowning in, why is this my life and WTF is so wrong with me cave, but this is what I need to hear. It is the second time I’ve read it. This time it was like reading it for the first time though. I usually seek out your blog when I want to laugh until I cry because what I really need to do is cry. This made me smile instead though. Nature can do this to you though and you, my sister from another mister are also a force of nature. Something unplanned and unexpected from a place you thought you needed and you knew what you would find. When I was a teenager my mother was in the hospital due to bipolar. She was getting a day pass to come home. I was the only child left at home( being the baby SUCKs HARD contrary to the spoils everyone thinks we get). I worked my ass off cleaning and cooking and laundry to make it perfect. When my dad pulled up,. She got out and searched the house for something to bitch about. Dispite my attempts to welcome her home and talk about how good she was looking or how nice it was that she was getting better. She finally went to the laundry room . Nothing needed done.. every single piece of clothing, towel and underthing was washed, folded and put away. Oh, except the dust and scrub rags, which she threw into the wash with a flurish and a roll of her eyes. ” I guess I came home for this mess! Always everyone’s slave.”. I deflected and went up to set the table. I had made a roast and potato’s, her favorite. There were many other slights at everything I had done. My father, though a saint to my mother and a very good man, did not ever stand up to her because at least he wasn’t a Target and if he had, a whole new barrage of ” Oh, always sticking up for YOUR kids, and I’m shit!” Tirade would start. Once we I had everyone served and sat to eat, just after I cut my first bite but before the fork Entered my mouth, I heard the voice of demon mom. ” I guess i get to eat the same shitty slop I get at the hospital!. I got up, put my plate away. And walked out the door. Without a word as rage enveloped me and tears sprang from my eyes, I walked! walked to be ALONE!!! I walked past all houses, c!imbed a fence, up a trail, off the trail, deep into the Pennsylvania woods to be ALONE! Solitude was not what I found. What I found was a miracle. CRUNCH! Loud running of somethin huge through dead leaves. All around me were squirrels! Not busily harvesting squirrels. Not running for their lives squirrels. Playing, furiously happy squirrels (sorry for stealing that). Dozens of them. Not afraid or seeming to have any purpose but to make me laugh. I sat down with my back to a tree to watch in wunder. They ran, jumped , climbed, played tag and chirped. They ran up to me, jumped over me and barked at me as if to say, “get up and play” and “why the hell are your eyes leaking like that, weird bald monster size squirrel?”. I watched them for an hour. They finally and magically faded from the woods as amazingly as they had come. I thought I knew what I needed. I thought I knew where to find absolute solitude. I found instead, a secret woodland squirrel Rave that I was invited to join. I laughed out loud and they were not even phased. I wondered if I was loosing my mental capacity, or had fallen down a rabbit hole. I wondered if it even happened at all. But my mood was lifted, more like propelled to the heavens. I still had a shitty life but the squirrels didn’t care and neither should I. Proof of another life, wildlife. They were always there when I really an d desperately needed what I didn’t know I needed. Just like the Bloggess and her curious weather patterns.
This is such a beautiful story. You are right about being North, I live in the Northeast and every time they call for snow I get annoyed! It’s really nice to hear a different perspective and see one of Earth’s most beautiful things seen the way it should be, with awe and wonderment.
When I was little, we lived in Arlington, Texas. The day that we broke ground for a swimming pool in the backyard was the same day that my father came home from work and said he’d been transferred to Wisconsin. That last winter that we lived in Arlington, it snowed (this would have been sometime around 1980). Just enough to cover the ground and make everything look pretty. I like to think the Texas winter was trying to prepare us for the Wisconsin winter. Of course, the next winter we were in Wisconsin, and it snowed so much that we had to dig a hole through the snow to get out of the house.
👩
I’ve lived in New England my whole life — and new fallen snow is always this magical to me. Old snow gets dirty and messy and icy. And the cold is brutal here right now. But snow is Magic. Always.