A Snowy Christmas Day Evening

The quiet Christmas snow.. before the raging storm.

Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening

Whose woods these are I think I know.
His house is in the village though;
He will not see me stopping here
To watch his woods fill up with snow.

My little horse must think it queer
To stop without a farmhouse near
Between the woods and frozen lake
The darkest evening of the year.

He gives his harness bells a shake
To ask if there is some mistake.
The only other sound’s the sweep
Of easy wind and downy flake.

The woods are lovely, dark and deep.
But I have promises to keep,
And miles to go before I sleep,
And miles to go before I sleep.

~ Robert Frost

A snowy evening turned into an even more snowy day and continued into another snowy evening. A white Christmas was wished for... but, be careful of your wishes...for the snow did not stop here, while only three inches deep. Christmas Day was gloomy and cloudy and cold with the feeling and look of snow in the skies... but no flakes. Then around four, just before the darkness descended it started falling and fell in quiet but large flakes that rapidly built up on the leaves and trees, the grass and cars and even the street. No wind to speak of, but constant snow. By 10 PM, at least three inches had accumulated on the top of the hot tub which was warming to a toasty 103℉. At 11 PM, Nyssa and I opened the hot tub lid and got in, the steam rising off the fabulously warm water. That contrast between hot water and cold, below freezing air and the gentle falling snowflakes was amazing. We simply folded the lid back on itself and sat there for 45 minutes in a state of complete relaxation.

Later during the overnight hours, things changed. I woke to the howling of the north wind past my window and as I looked out over the street, I could barely make out any more than the shape of the houses and massive snow coming down. By 8 AM it was obvious that most of the churches in town had cancelled services and the airport had essentially shut down. By noon, over 9 inches had fallen and the snow continued on throughout the day and into last night as well. So, this was just the dusting, the first three inches, the prelude to our second huge snow storm of 2010. The first dropped 10 inches on January 30th of this year... and now even more.

(end of post)