Snowfall Perks

It sifts from leaden sieves,

It powders all the wood,

It fills with alabaster wool

The wrinkles of the road.

It makes an even face

Of mountain and of plain, —

Unbroken forehead from the east

Unto the east again.

It reaches to the fence,

It wraps it, rail by rail,

Till it is lost in fleeces;

It flings a crystal veil

On stump and stack and stem, —

The summer’s empty room,

Acres of seams where harvests were,

Recordless, but for them.

It ruffles wrists of posts,

As ankles of a queen, —

Then stills its artisans like ghosts,

Denying they have been.

           

--Emily Dickinson

Several inches of snow falling overnight Friday meant 

extra early-morning work for Saturday.

Not much beholding of its "prettiness" until paths were plowed or shoveled and the driveway cleared.

Then, we could enjoy and appreciate the magical scenes created from the storm. 

"Marshmallow cream" came to mind as I stood on the deck and observed heavily-laden limbs extending almost to the ground. 

And, because our house, the bird feeders and  bird houses were constructed with ample pitches to their roofs, no worries. 

Snow slid off our roof quickly as the morning temperature rose to facilitate a meltdown. 

Liam doesn't seem to mind the snow.  After all, Border Collies race from the barn to the squirrel tree in seconds.  

Snow simply means a little leaping with the sprinting.

As for Bill and me, when outside work was done, indoor projects took off with Bill tending to his and me, to mine.  

The 2018 grand fir Christmas tree was stripped of decorations and propped outside in the yard on its stand.  

I always love having an extra tree out there, appearing like a permanent fixture until the wind blows it over. 

Framed photographs depicting two wonderful traveling adventures in 2018 for Bill and me were prepared and hung in the bedroom. 

Stale food items went to the composter.  Happily, I can find things in the refrigerator again. 

Christmas presents were hung or stored in appropriate places. 

Later in the afternoon, I called my friend Susie in Colorado. We talked for about an hour.  

She's turning 70 on Jan. 10, so we know we'll talk again soon.

Bill and I sat and watched college football games guilt free cuz we had a good excuse to stay inside. 

As the day wore on, rain washed away the beauty of most of the scenes depicted in today's photos. 

Today after an overnight cool down, we're dealing with slipping and sliding on slabs of ice.  

Hopefully, the ice may melt and disappear like much of yesterday's snow.

Winter moves on as one year winds down and another awaits.  

Happy Sunday.