The stillness of snow

I hope everyone had a fantastic holiday season and made the most of time with family and friends. Family can be a lot but it's very important to take time for each other.

Earlier this month, we had our first major snowstorm of the season. I was especially excited for this storm as it was the first snow in our new home. We ended up with a little over 4 inches; however, a second storm arrived the following weekend and provided 5 more inches of snow. It's truly a winter wonderland at the homestead.

I've always enjoyed the cold weather, with snow days being my absolute favorite. The dampness in the air, the cleanliness of fresh snow, the evergreen trees mixing their dark greens with the white snow ground cover — it's all just a beautiful combination. Everything slows down when it snows. Traffic lessens. Schools close. Animals hunker down. With all the falling snow, the world just becomes still.

In the quiet of the snowstorm, Julia and I took the dogs up the mountain for a hike. It was during this hike where I saw how snow can freeze the activity of the forest. Typically, squirrels and birds track us on our hikes, yet this time there was only the damp sound of snow adding to its blanket. The snow was too wet to provide the occasional crunch under our boots. We encountered no deer on our hike, and our grey fox was nowhere to be seen. Yet it all felt like the forest was very much alive. Just resting and watching us.

We didn't stay long at the peak. We found ourselves staring in silence at the beauty the snow brings. After a few snowball tosses with the dogs, it was time to let the mountain have its quiet back and hide any traces of our presence.