Snow Day

Today, in my small town, the residents have been enjoying a rare visitor: snow!!!

You can just about imagine the urgent sense of exhilaration that hits towns not used to winter precipitation.  I'm not suggesting that this section of North Carolina is akin to Florida, but when it snows, it seems that it's gone just as fast.  These are some pics that I took of the snow.

The neighbors had to come get their dog.  He was having a ball...lol.   I really enjoyed taking these photos.  There is this "silent observer" feeling that overtakes me when I'm behind the camera.  Definitely interested in investing in a professional digital camera in the near future.  (I'd love a Nikon 3100, with at least one lens, if anyone wants to play Secret New Year's Santa.  Yes, Christmas is over, but giving should be a spirit extended throughout the year.)

There is this amazing stillness during snow, like no other feeling.  I imagine to witness it in it's full effect you'd have to go somewhere remote like Iceland.  I recall hearing a story that described the snow as an embodiment  of angels, falling down to the Earth, in the hopes that they can observe life here.  This was used to explain why snow melts, which is simply the angel returning to heaven.  While I'm sure most meteorologists would have a fit at that description, I appreciate it.  There's a serenity in feeling like angels, for those who believe in angels, would  be concerned enough to want to observe us.  I can see in my mind, the snowflakes beginning to form as the angels become magnificent beams of bright light, in a place that is both distant and near.  The lights slowly break into pieces and float down through the sky, becoming the alluring veil of white that blankets the ground.

The idea is a calming one, that seems to orchestrate an inner peace.  A lot like those moments, standing alone in the snow, surrounded by silence, when the mind is free to reflect.

Enjoy the remainder of the winter.

Marcus Jamison, the Rare Poet