My favorite part of winter is the actual falling of snow. The descent is just so beautiful.
Snow truly does come in many forms. Since it has been snow season, I have noticed an incredible variety in the size, texture, feel, look, and sound of snow. I'll attempt to list from memory some of my observations over the last few months. And I'll use *'s as my bullet points (get it? snowflakes? haha!)
* Tonight we have snow falling that looks like shredded clear plastic confetti. In the air, it looks crinkly and clear and stiff. On the ground, it looks like billions of tiny diamonds.
* The other day we had blowing snow. The wind was, what?, 25 mph? More? I don't remember. But it was blowing. And the snow was forming smooth mounds and crevices and reminded me of sand dunes. Really stunning.
* A week ago, for the first time in my life, I saw tiny individual perfectly formed snow flakes. Just like the cut-out kind we made in third grade. Each one - really! - was unique. Each one - really! - was an intricate, delicate, and unimaginably complex crystal, exact and precise as could be.
* We've had cotton ball snow, when hundreds of those perfect flakes huddle together in clumps and fall down in huge, heavy puffs of goo. They're quite endearing as they plummet to the earth with a helplessness and inevitability. Splat! They hit the ground and go flat.
* Snow storms are terrifying to me. We've only had one or two, I think. But the snow falls so fast and piles up so big, I worry that I'll wake up and the door will be blocked and I'll have to push a shovel in front of me to walk anywhere. That hasn't happened yet. But snow storms are intense. You can't see very far in front of you.
* When it gets really cold - below zero - the snow on the ground squeaks. It makes me cringe a little. Tires and shoes squeak. I always know when it's getting warmer by the lack of sound the snow makes from day to day.
* Pellets of white ice. I hate those fuckers. They sting. They're not big enough to be hail balls (which I grew up with, and I don't want them again) but they slam into you and everything around you with a sharp force that makes you want to hide in bed all day.
What other kinds of snow am I missing here?
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1 comment:
Don't forget about the wet snow flakes. The ones that make shoveling very strenuous.
I like to think about the activity that comes with different kinds of snow. Your bullet point number four, the cotton ball flakes, are really good for sledding and skiing. The wet flakes are really good for snow ball fights, forts and snow people. The ice balls, those are good for hot cocoa and being inside.
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