November 23, 2008

November snow

By March, or even February, we'll be sick of the snow. I'll be tired of mopping up puddles on the linoleum, and hanging mittens to dry above the heat vent, and clomping around in heavy winter boots. I'll be especially weary of how tense I get behind the wheel of a car when the roads are snow-covered and slippery. I'll be sick of taking photos that are blue and white, or grey and white, or white and white.

But in November, I'm still able to appreciate snow, the way it puts a clean layer of sparkle across muddy yards, the way the curves soften square edges. The lilac bushes and barberry bushes near the house catch the snow, letting it pile up on their branches, and the river birches bend under the snow as if worshipping the season. The brilliant foliage of autumn is gone, but bare branches hold mounds of white against the winter sky.

November snow

8 comments:

Lorianne said...

Hey, you got a measurable amount! We still haven't gotten even a dusting in the Boston area, but it'll be here any day, I'm sure.

jo(e) said...

I think we got about eight inches or so on Friday night. Some of the ski slopes opened this weekend. The season has begun!

kathy a. said...

so glorious. i've never lived where it snows, and just can never get over snow frosting the trees against a brilliant blue sky.

BrightBoy said...

I cannot quite fathom the idea of a place where significant snowfall in November is a regular occurrence.

It just doesn't seem possible.

Even in Native State, the first big snow of the year usually didn't come until sometime in December, even though we typically got snow in some form by November.

Here, it has flurried very lightly, but we've had nothing substantial.

I don't quite understand why, though; it's certainly cold enough.

Lomagirl said...

You almost, almost make a case for living in the frozen wastelands. But then the reminder that it lasts till March pulls me back to the realities of winter. Maybe I could bear a couple of days of snowy weather, but not 4-5 months.
(tinfrub is my word verification today. Doesn't it sound fun? Like some old, forgotten tool.)

YourFireAnt said...

I think you should also mention that getting this much this early is unusual, and that it is melting off even as we speak, the temperature having risen into the 40s.

FA


word verificatin: Ozena [a new super hero?]

Unknown said...

Looks so pretty. It's raining and blowing here, which is just not right.

jo(e) said...

FA: Well, you're in the city, which is much warmer. A different microclimate. The snow hasn't melted yet out here.