Winter's last stand? (Hopefully)

I was in Florida when we had a white Christmas back home. A little bummed but seeing The Floridian made it okay.

January brought a couple of snows to fulfill my winter expectations. I was thrilled to stay home and capture snow birds at my feeder through the window, play in the snow with Tanner and enjoy nature’s white blanket through the lens of my camera.

January 31st and February 1st we braced for a full-blown winter blizzard which turned out to be one of the worst storms to hit in years. But, again, the photo opps were endless, as was my energy to capture everything I could to remember the event.

Yesterday, it started snowing…again. I listened to the wind blow the sleety snow against windows all afternoon and into the evening. And I can now honestly say…ENOUGH ALREADY! Since Christmas we’ve have 40+ inches of snow. My snow fix was complete about 20 inches ago. Now, I’m tired of it. Tired of the freezing temps, the slush, the black cinders on the road, the white-knuckle drives home, the mud, the wet dog…did I mention the friggin’ freezing temps? Even with an escape from winter last week, I’m ready for spring.

But…

then I wake up to a totally magical site.

Amnesia sets in and my fascination with snow begins again.

What is it about new-fallen snow that captivates? In one split second I completely forgot about the previous 43 inches. Morning’s early light set off the delicate snowy branches in a way that was simply stunning.  The first thought running through my mind is “how late will I be to work if I skip breakfast and take pictures?

The answer is: 15 minutes…and I even bladed the driveway.

It’s completely still outside, except for Tanner who is tearing through around the yard in the snow like a golden maniac. The only other sign of life are the deer tracks made some time earlier. The sun is hiding behind the clouds so everything is cast in an eerie blue light. Perfection.

Is this winter’s last stand? With the crazy weather we’ve had lately, all bets are off until…May. It’s possible we could have snow into March. But maybe, just maybe, this is the last of the long-term, bitterly-cold winter snow.

My fix is fed. Let’s move on now, shall we?