Every morning, as soon as it is light out, I look out the small window over the kitchen sink to see what has changed overnight. What I saw during this sleepy morning ritual on Friday jarred me wide awake. The first and only word that came out of my mouth was “Wow!” A thick blanket of snow had changed everything overnight. It was breathtaking. When I went to bed at 10 pm the night before, a few small flakes were falling, but according to the weather app on my phone, it wouldn’t amount to much. It’s obvious, Mother Nature doesn’t have the same app.
In a few short hours, millions of tiny snowflakes had fallen from the sky and landed on each other to create a downy layer of what appeared to measure at least five inches. I put on my winter boots and bundled up. I couldn’t wait for Dennis, my two-year-old Teddy Bear Poo, to see the surprise waiting outside for him. I quickly grabbed my phone, and out we went.
The first thing Dennis did was stick his whole face into the snow. Then he ran, jumped, and raced through the snow as fast as he could with pure abandoned joy, while I brushed the snow off the bird feeder and filled it with seeds. I stood in awe and noticed how the snow had created so much beauty. It adorned every surface with perfectly placed snowflakes balancing on the thinnest of branches and following the contours of the land. From the lid of the trash can to the top of the propane tank, everything was made beautiful—nature’s version of a Cinderella story.
As Dennis discovered, making fresh tracks is the ultimate experience. In my days of Alpine skiing, there was nothing quite as satisfying as being the first one to carve beautiful lines on a mountain-sized white canvas in deep powder.
The wet snow was the perfect snowman-making material. On the wooden swing hanging from a huge Oak tree out front, I made two tiny snowmen holding hands made of branches. I wasn’t the only one feeling the need to play in the snow. Yesterday, I noticed snowpeople of all shapes and sizes standing in the front yards along the winding road that leads to town. There was even a bodybuilder snowman with a six-pack, flexing his muscles for all the cars driving by. The snowmen were like friends waving to us as we drove by. We even honked and waved back at a few of them and the people bringing them to life.
Today, the sun is shining, and the temperature is above freezing. My snow couple has fallen off the swing and is quickly disappearing into the melting snow.
Bob Dylan’s song If Not For You suddenly starts playing in my head. And as I sing the words, I’m filled with gratitude for the generosity of nature. She keeps on giving—something new, something beautiful, and something to be grateful for—one miraculous tiny flake at a time.
If not for you
The winter would hold no spring
I couldn’t hear a robin sing
There’d be nothing new
If not for you
— Bob Dylan
The generosity of nature was the inspiration for the song Fill My Cup. You can listen to Fill My Cup on Bandcamp