RSS 2.0 FeedFebruary 17, 2011, Weekly editorial
Had enough snow?
Old snow can be beautiful, too, in its own way.
It is easy to love a new snow. Everything is fresh and clean. Brown patches on the lawn disappear. Everyday trees become holiday trees. The snow sparkles, and the air is invigorating.
An old snow? Not so much. It gets dirty and hard, sometimes stained with dog urine. The big hard walls of snow and ice make it dangerous to back cars out of driveways. The uneven, hard footprints, ice and puddles make walking difficult. We've had so much snow this year that roofs are threatened, and we had to learn how to use a “roof rake” to clear them.
But old snow can tell beautiful stories too, if we pause in our daily rush to notice them. We can see the igloos and snowmen, the sled runs that are reminders of fun in the snow. There are also snow angels made by little children lying in the snow and lifting their arms up and down. Or the words “I love you” tramped on the lawn in the spontaneous exuberance of youth.
If you look carefully, you can see other stories, the thin laboreous winding path from the door dug by a senior citizen that meets the wide sidewalk completely snowblower-cleaned by a thoughtful neighbor.
Nature-lovers know how to read the delicate footprints of the wild birds, the bigger prints of rabbits and raccoons.
Now is the time to remember the birds and put out some seed for them, because they are having a hard time in winter too. And remember one thing also. Snow melts!
