Just back from a walk along the ridge with the dogs and we all have a light dusting of snow on our coats. The long awaited snow is here. While my son is gleeful about a snow day, too often the changes and challenges it brings rob me of the joy and excitement he experiences. Today I took a moment to appreciate. There is something so gentle and peacefully quiet about new falling snow.  I stopped on my walk, felt the gentleness of  snow flakes on my cold face and experienced the quiet, let the of flurry of schedule change and work thoughts just pass for a moment. I’ll need this moment of peace, quiet and solitude to prepare for the day of changes it brings; child is home from school now, several meetings and appointments that may or may not need to be postponed, a snow plow that isn’t working when I am the snowplow operator out here, and the desire to just stay home, take a longer walk in the snow, cozy up by the woodstove and drink warm tea instead.

Despite my grumbling about the cold, I do love and appreciate the many faces of winter in the woods. Quiet. It can be so quiet, no more so then when a light snow like today’s arrives, with only the occasional woodpecker breaking the silence as it taps for food. The quiet of winter provides the contrast for spring when mornings begin with lovely birdsong. I wait with such eager anticipation to hear that first wood thrush song which heralds that spring is here. The contrast is even more so with summer when the heat and humidity bring on a cacophony of tree insects, birds and frogs that make summer nights downright noisy. So today I will appreciate and enjoy the quiet, the gentle and the cold.

Here’s to the beauty of a snowy day in the woods.