It was very beautiful outside yesterday with the fresh-fallen snow. I couldn’t resist going around the building that I live in to capture some of all the white stuff. I’m used to snow now but remember vividly the first snow flurries that I saw and felt. Seeing snow for the first time was exciting! That was in 1968. Prior to that, the only snow I ever saw was on Christmas cards and in pictures. The only Christmas I had ever known was a green one. These days when there is a huge snowfall, as we have now, I’m happy to say that I relish the snow’s beauty.
There is nothing in the world more beautiful than the forest clothed to its very hollows in snow. It is the still ecstasy of nature, wherein every spray, every blade of grass, every spire of reed, every intricacy of twig, is clad with radiance.”
-William Sharp
As you can see from the above collage, everything in my own little “forest” was clothed in beauty. The fresh, white snow, clung to everything and did its magic. A snowy day is a time to enjoy the whiteness, abundance, and profuseness of fallen snow – Nature’s gift! There is also a stillness. It can be a good time for a meditation on stillness.
Fresh snow doesn’t stay for long in Toronto. Everything becomes slushy and messy as soon as the sun comes out. Today is a bright, sunny day, and the snow is already melting in some parts.
I didn’t know that I had an image like the one above until I went through my photos. It was inadvertently taken. However, it is a useful image that goes well with the above quote. This quote gives a wonderful analogy of life being like newly fallen snow and this is what this post is about – newly fallen snow or fresh-fallen snow.
Now seems a perfect part;
Yet each one holds summer’s secret
Deep down within its heart.
~ Charles G. Stater
Around this building, the landscaping is beautiful in Spring, Summer, and Fall. There are blossoms, flowers, shrubs, and grasses all around. When I look at the branches of trees, laden with snow now, I can’t help but remember that they aren’t always in this state.
We are free to enjoy all the seasons knowing that what we see today may be gone tomorrow. As a senior citizen now, I like the snow in moderation. When I’m looking at it from the inside, it is even more lovely. This reminds me of what Lady Bird Johnson said: When I no longer thrill to the first snow of the season, I’ll know I’m growing old. The beauty of fresh-fallen snow is unmistakable. It’s just that winter is hard on old bones. One has to be very careful!
This last image shows a nearby street – Gothic Avenue – with some houses and parked cars. You can barely see the one person walking on the sidewalk. It’s not very busy along here and snow ploughs will probably not be along for many days. The fresh-fallen snow may have a chance to stay fresh for a while longer.
I prefer winter and fall, when you feel the bone structure of the landscape—the loneliness of it—the dead feeling of winter. Something waits beneath it, the whole story doesn’t show. (Andrew Wyeth)
Hope you liked the part of the story you saw in these images and are looking forward eagerly to the next part to come. That part is called SPRING!