SNOW

Do you like snow? For me, sometimes yes and sometimes no. Right now I dislike snow. Enough is enough. I am ready for spring and summer. Bring on the sun and heat! Get out the wading pool! Nugget will just have to share his.

I wore out one shovel last winter and I am working on a new shovel this year. My snow blower, blew; I think it does not want to leave the warmth of the garage, along with my 4-wheeler.


Other times, I like snow. Like when I do not have to shovel. Or if I am up in the mountains. Then I like it a lot. Like, when you are by yourself and it is getting dark, and you can hear the snow hit the ground because it is so quiet out. You can almost feel the snow drift along on a breeze and it sparkles in the last light of day. Then you turn your face up to the sky, see the first stars start to shine, and feel and see the flakes as they touch your face. It is like magic. You take a deep breath of the cold air and it makes you feel alive, and the snowy world around you seems to come alive.


The sound of your voice seems extra loud in the quiet. You can see a pure blanket of white, undisturbed. As the moon comes out, everything around you seems to get even brighter than before. The sparkles of the snow now seem to dance before your eyes. And, in the distance, you hear a lone coyote give its call, and you wait to see if there is an answer.


There is none. You then make your way back to your fire, brush off the snow from the log that you were setting on, and put some more wood on the fire and pour yourself another cup of hot coffee. It seems to smell even better, too. You wrap yourself a little more tightly in your blanket, which has the faint smell of campfire about it. You feel as if you are seeing and smelling things for the first time ever. As the snow keeps coming down, it seems that your senses are clearer, as is your sight.


As you warm yourself by the fire, you start to nod off. After banking the fire, you crawl into your tent and into your sleeping bag. It is so quiet you can hear the snowflakes swish against the sides of your tent. They seem to make a kind of tune. You snuggle down in your bag and you fall asleep to the song of a snowy winter night in the Rockies of Colorado.


That's when I really love snow.