Snow

Snow Swirls

| Flower Roberts

This is my first winter on the mountain, so everything is a first for me. The wind woke me up this morning. I looked out the back window to see snow tornadoes swirling where the wind met the corner between the house and the garage.

Circles mean things to me. They are a sign that I pay attention to. I know these swirls are due to the blowing snow, the wind direction and the configuration of the corner. I also know that natural forces create supernatural events.

See partial snow circles left by the swirls.

I stood mesmerized by the swirls. I remembered back to teaching about breaking waves with water in a fish tank and how the water swirled back when it hit the edge. I thought about how wave swells are really circles under the sea. Nature does not have corners nor deadends. Wind and water find their way out, over or through eventually.

I am in a time-circle now. Here on the mountain circling through the past of my family, again and again. Trying to find my way through to a present where all the pieces fit together.

Now, it is actually snowing. The air is white and fiercely dynamic. I am in the midst of a giant snow swirl.

Tiny swirl on left then tornado in the middle.

I am where I belong.

FLOW

It’s Melting

| Flower Roberts

Water drops and snow plops are making patterns in the snow.


The deer have criss-crossed the yard many times during these past three days.


Deer spent time under our porch.

Deer tracks headed under the porch.

The two rabbits that live in the thicket bedded down in the leaf pile.

Rabbit tracks around the thicket.


The quiet is now punctuated by the soft sounds of snow cascades dumping off the tree limbs.

Even endings are lovely here on the mountain.

FLOW

Diamond Dust

| Flower Roberts

I have spent today in a frozen cloud. There are ice crystals on everything. I call this “diamond dust.”

Big crystals


Frozen fog makes the air white. Visibility is severly limited. It has been strange to be in a frosty cloud all day long. All sounds are muffled.

In a cloud.


Look how the frosty fog is clinging to the deck railing. It has stayed around 20° F all day.

Frozen Fog


Rose just informed me that more snow is expected here. I am content to stay inside to read and write. I can pace on the porch if I feel antsy.


This is my first big snow on the mountain. I am happy to be here to enjoy it.

FLOW

Watching It Snow

| Flower Roberts

I have watched the snow in silence all morning. I am truly grateful for this period of quiet peace. I have needed to concentrate on a project I have been working on.

The view from my desk.

No, it is not decorating for the holidays or decoupaging Christmas ornaments. That would be fun. I will hold off on glitter and glue until after 5:00PM.

I am rewriting my story. Not just a chapter, the whole thing. Well almost all of it.  I am culling what was myth and wishful thinking to see what is left.

This has not been an easy thing to do. If I did not feel that it was necessary, I would not be doing it. I am tackling one past event at a time and looking at it from all sides. We usually do not look at things from perspectives other than our own, especially when we are young.

Piling up quietly.

This has been hard work and has required my actually drawing scenarios and stick people and writing out what each person might have been thinking. It usually gives me a headache, but is very enlightening so I will keep at it until I get more clarification.

Watching the snow in silence is like staring into a fish tank. It somehow clears my mind like rice clears the palate.

Fluffy snow slowly falling is so soothing that it feels like balm for my troubled mind as I brave things I have refused to face.

This snow is like an angel. Nature’s way of quieting the setting and softening everything. Muting the noises and covering the colors so that things are monochromatic and muffled.

I did not say I would be making a snow angel nor snowman. My neighbor did bring me some snow cream.

I feel gratitude to my parents for leaving my sister and me this haven. It has brought me so much peace and comfort.

The results of this work are for a book that I have been working on for a long time. There have been surprises. I am sure there will be more. Bring it!

FLOW in SNOW

A Mouse, a Chipmunk and a Bird Met Under a Bush

| Flower Roberts

There are tiny tracks everywhere after a fine dusting of snow.

This snow is so light and fine it moves like powdered sugar.

A white dusting is perfect for tiny tracks that would not show up in big snows.

My favorite spot for tiny tracks is under bushes. That’s where the small and skittish roam.

I usually carry a penny for scale, but did not have one in my bathrobe.

I know these three were probably not under the bush at the same time, but I like thinking about three tiny creatures hanging out under a bush telling about how they pass their time when it is cold.

So I imagine a little bird with the young chipmunk meeting a mouse for a chat.

Thankfully there are no cat tracks around.

Flow

Snow Tales

| Flower Roberts

Somebody came by during the snow. I did not see them, but they left a trail.

The snow tells who has been here and where they went.

All I have to do is read the snow tales.

My squirrel friend Pearl came by my office as usual.

A bird walked along the railing.

Several of my little friends spent time in the bunny yard because we left the gate open.

The entire back yard was the site of a herd party. Were they frolicking in the moonlight?

Mr. Flower has made several trips to the wood pile.

He also shoveled a path so I could walk to the railing in my house shoes. He is very handy.

Flow and snow

Throwing Snow

| Flower Roberts

While most folks are shoveling sidewalks and driveways,

the Flower is diligently digging snow off her deck.

Why would I make a path to nowhere?

The bunnies, of course.

Their yard in under the deck. They have not been out for days.

They dislike snow, but more than that, they hate to be dripped on.

Before they can leave the comforts of their bunny room in the basement,

the snow must be removed.

Melting will not do, because melting means dripping.

It’s been a tough week inside for the bunnies.

Barley seems depressed.

It could be indigestion. He ate some bristles off the broom while my back was turned.

Charlotte is bored. She has been throwing the hay pan in protest.

They have been keeping busy inside. But they need to get back outside.

That’s why I shoveled a path to the deck railing.

So I could throw snow over it to the ground below.

It’s all about the bunnies here.

If you don’t believe me, ask Mr. Flower.  He’ll tell you.

FLOWER

 

 

Winter to Spring in Ninety Minutes

| Flower Roberts

I took all these photos today.

I started the day in the Appalachian Mountains with snow and ice.

Then we headed home to sunshine and flowers.

No plane involved.  It’s amazing!

I really do love living in North Carolina.

Where else can you switch seasons in 90 minutes?

FLOWER