If you’ve read yesterday’s post, you know how I feel about the recent arctic blast (bitter). In fairness, however, there was beauty present even while I cursed the cold.
Prints in the snow are some of my favorite discoveries. A cat left perfectly-preserved prints where it stalked up the driveway. I hope this (and every) cat had a warm shelter and a hearty meal to return to at night.
Here, tiny birds hopped around. The prints resemble three-pronged twigs pressed onto the snow. Having recently touched the legs of a dead finch who succumbed to the cold, I can tell you that her legs felt like twigs, too.
A drift where the wind whipped the dry snow into a large pile near the house. The “last bastion” of yesterday’s haiku was the stubbornly lingering remnant of this drift.
Out here in the country, mail service can be iffy. We get our mail at the post office, so had to (slowly and carefully) drive there to pick it up after the storm hit. The county does a good job of quickly plowing and de-icing even rural roads, but this was too much in too-difficult conditions for them to keep clear. This was a trip needing true 4 wheel drive – drivers inexperienced in driving in snow and those in cars needed to stay home.
Warm temperatures and rain have melted all the snow here now, turning it into sloppy, sucking mud. Though the evidence of the deep chill has vanished outside, the memory remains fresh in our minds. I, for one, will not be sad to bid 2022 “adieu”.
As we head into a new year, we wish our readers good health and many delightful discoveries! Nourish your body and mind, practice kindness, and stay curious.