Fascinating

Shh, listen. Can you hear that? It sounds like a babbling brook.

The nearest creek is six blocks away, yet the trickling sounds like a stream circling the entire house.

I follow my ears to find where this is coming from.

Out the front door, I find this (above) dripping out of the gutter, but it’s minor compared to the volume I hear.

I head to the back.

I find a dribbling stream of water on the deck (which will be replaced with a patio soon).

Why, of course. It’s melting snow.

I step out into the open, and the sun toasts my skin like summertime. Yet, my eyes deceive me when all I see is white.

Yesterday my husband and dog played with snowballs.

The next day, summertime appears to arrive. Snow melts like an open dam.

Finally, winter melts away to spring with a touch of summer.As I take my rest for the night, the blankets of white are gone, only twenty-four hours later.

Has winter said its goodbyes for the last time of the season? One can never tell.

***

These photos were taken on Saturday, the day of snow, and Sunday, the day of the thaw.

One day the tulips were blowing in a blizzard (below).

And the next day their vibrancy returned.Who is the magician working this magic? This is something that happens without our permission…without a steering wheel…without computer buttons controlling it. While most of us are sick to the core of winter, I still can’t help but find it fascinating. “Stop and smell the roses” is too trite a message for what I’d like to convey. I didn’t just stop to pay attention, I let the experience penetrate my mind, body, and soul. I was in awe of Mother Nature. The very day before the snow came, I tanned on my back porch!

If the snow had lasted longer, I may not have been in this awe-filled frame of mind. Then again, I’ve never been so fascinated by weather as I have since I moved back home. For too many years, when I lived in Florida, I experienced no changes. The best I could hope for was going from 90% humidity to 50% humidity.

Now, each day is a surprise. We can go days without sunshine, then days with clear skies. Some days, a mix of sun and clouds is a nice change. Rain, oh refreshing rain comes in drizzles or downpours. We even got this snow when spring was on the cusp of summer!

Drizzle was rare in Florida, only downpours, which didn’t usually last more than an hour. Relentless beams of heat penetrated pupils and stifled breathing. Change? Only during visits from a hurricane.

Back home, rain, snow, clouds or sunshine, I dip into the experience of change . . . I swim in it . . . I live it.

 

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