FINALLY--SNOW IN THE PIEDMONT

Reflections at Midnight

So excited! Finally--snow in the Piedmont!  I know, others may be tired of the cold.  Tromping over piles of dirty snow at crosswalks, de-icing the windshield and waiting for Spring.  My New Jersey relatives among them.  I grew up a Midwesterner who walked to school, sometimes miserably.  But here we wait.  And yesterday we were rewarded.  Skies white with snowflakes as big as quarters. Four inches of fresh soft snow.  Perfect packing.  Perfect sledding.  We were on our neighbor's hill before you could say Jack Robinson.  I changed jeans twice.  

This morning we wake to more beauty, the trees sparkling and the birds warming in the sun.  Our feeder empties before breakfast is over.

Lots of birds winter in North Carolina, both residents and visitors.  Sparrows and finches, chickadees, titmice and nuthatches, woodpeckers, wrens, blue jays, cardinals, and more. Quieter this time of year but still hungry. I keep my bird book on the windowsill.  The blue jays and cardinals like our holly berries which are right by the back door.  The blue cedar berries in the meadow are a bird forager's treat too.  

Here schools close for weather our Northern neighbors would scoff at.  In St. Louis where I grew up schools never closed.  The few of us (teachers included) who made it to class doubled up in classrooms and enjoyed the eeriness of half-empty halls.  Does anyone else remember a time like that?  Our high school sat next to a lake and we could skate over lunch and after classes were over. The ice was so thick and the snow so deep that a snow plow had to clear the way for the skaters.  There was an outdoor pay phone to call for a ride home as dusk settled.  How different from today.  

Sometimes I look for a lesson in my day.  What does this mean?  How might it help me in the future?  What universality can be drawn from my experience that someone else might identify with?  When someone else's experiences apply to me I like that.  It's like profiting for free.  But I don't see a universality here.  It's just a great wintry day that's bringing back memories. So simple.  Nothing wrong with that. 
                                                    Nina Naomi