I love the quiet of the snow. The sound it makes as it falls, whispers as it blankets everything and makes it pure. Covering all the junk in the yard and the imperfections of our land, all that brown out there now. Then here where we live it also buffers out sound. At least until the neighbors realize they forgot something at the store or what ever reason CRAZY people use to get out in the stuff to get out there spinning in their driveways trying desperately to go places. Or until the neighborhood kids get out there on their four wheelers with no mufflers. At least until then it is SO peaceful, SO blissfully silent.
I love snow, my grandmother, Nana, LOVED snow. She always used to call when it snowed, excited as a child. You could hear it in her voice, the sheer delight. 'Mits, it SNOWING! Is it snowing at your house?! Has it covered the ground yet? Do you have enough birdseed?'
Mother loved snow only if it came on the weekend OR if it was enough to close school for a week. As a teacher/vice-principle, she dreaded it when it came like it often does here in the south, just enough to close school for 1 day and then thaw and refreeze at night making for really bad roads for the buses. But I remember 1 year in the late 1960 or very early 1970's, we had a huge snow for our area. A 'surprise snow' that fell on Saturday night. We got to stay home from church with no guilt. (THAT was a BIG DEAL-cause we went to church if there was a breeze through the doors in ALL regular weather) and then we were home for what seemed like a whole week! She decided to watch TV that Sunday. She fell in love with Wide World of Sports. She from then on loved to hear the theme song for that show cause it reminded her of the 'time we got to stay home from church for snow'.
Nana and Moma are gone now. Moma 20 years this past Christmas day. Nana only lived about 6 months after we lost Pappaw in December 1997. They were married for 62 years. Isn't that how it sometimes goes with folks married that long.
Nana got to see the last snow of all snows like the one in the 1960's when it snowed every Wednesday for 3 weeks in a row. That one I was little and spent almost the whole time sledding on our then dead-end street and all over Starmount Forrest golf course. Back in those days you spent time outside with the neighborhood kids from light to dark and sometimes came home for lunch. Now a days you don't dare let your kids stay gone all day. People are different now. Evil is out there now. Ya GOT to KEEP your eye on your kids now a days.
Anyway Nana got to see the snow in the early 1990's that lasted for 3 weeks with more snow falling every week. That was the last big snow she got to see here. I hope there is a small part of heaven that has snow just for her.
Here in the south, big, long lasting snows are so rare that we really appreciate them. And most of us that can STAY HOME during this kinda weather. Even my dad who was from New Hampshire originally, but lived here longer than he lived there, knew to stay home when it snowed down here. However, I do remember my yankee friends (no offence, ya’ll) from high school saying ‘youse guys just don’ts know how to drive in snow’ And I tried to explain how OUR snow is different here. (Daddy said so.) But they always said, Snow is snow and go flying off. I tried to tell them here we ALWAYS have a layer of ice under our snow and to be careful. They would laugh really big and go driving off like bats out of you know where. Sorry to say I got the last laugh most times cause THEY were almost ALWAYS the FIRST ones in the ditch crying for a tow truck! I went to a private Christian school and we had students from all over the US at our little school. Remind me to tell you about my school later.
Well anyway. I love looking out the windows and doors at the snow, taking pictures of it and making snow cream. Feeding the birds and watching them, naming all I can name with out looking at the bird book I inherited from Nana. Nana did the same thing while I lived with her as a little girl. We use to look out her picture window and see how many different birds we could name. Nana always had 4-5 feeders cleaned up and filled up before the snow got here. We would watch the snow and the birds for hours and hours! And the quiet! The only thing we heard was the snow falling and the birds fussin over the feeders. And the hiss of the oil stove. So I guess I get my love for snow honest. Ya think?
By the way the final season of LOST comes on Tuesday night. I'll be DVRing it cause it comes on opposite NCIS and NCIS LA. I'll probably DVR the whole season so I won't miss any of the fun.
Well I gotta run.
Later ya'll. See ya on the Internet.