Entranced by the Snow

This morning, as I cleared the light cover of fluffy snow from my drive and walkway, I was able to enjoy the time with gently drifting snowflakes falling down around me. The air was cold, but it did little to distract my eyes from the beauty that surrounded me. Tree branches and evergreen needles had collected the flakes and the limbs drooped under the added weight. The dark green of the hemlocks were enhanced by the whiteness tipping their boughs. Bare and interlaced tree limbs turn to intricate lace patterns. While I shoveled, the sun began to brighten the clouds, but had not made an appearance from behind the overcast curtain, yet.

I went outside early this morning and the traffic on the roadway was light. Flakes of snow hissed softly as they made landings on the piles of snow and drifts around me. The serenity of the time alone was relaxing and although it was work, it was soon changed to pleasure. The only thing that kept me grounded was the coldness that reached inside of my gloves and nipped my fingers. The snow was light and I would only pause long enough to do slap of my hands against my thighs to warm them. Outside for less than hour, I was glad to get back inside to chase the tingling from my fingertips, holding them near the basement wood burner.

My son, Andrew, lives in Amarillo, Texas. The other day, they got eleven inches of snow overnight. He told his wife, Renee, that he enjoyed shoveling snow. If he is like me, it isn’t always that a person likes the exercise it is the time of quiet and solitude that a person enjoys. It is a time for reflection. The body is kept busy and the mind is free to explore.

As I shoveled and carried off the snow, my mind was free and began to create the following Haiku poem.

Clouds in small pieces

Fall as light, fluffy snowflakes

And drift on the wind.