The night sky is a dull grey white.
An opaque dust sheet floats so light
Upon the roofs and lamps and cars.
It settles so softly like falling stars.

It sneaks in crevices and onto windowsills,
Piles up in soft layers over roads and hills,
Weighs down branches, envelopes bark,
Skips and flutters across the depth of dark Poem by Ruth Velenski

On this especially reflective winter Solstice night, the temperature outside flirts with 10 degrees F.

I feel the need to celebrate, to be surrounded by the elements, and experience the quiet, so I head out dressed as a human bundle. The woods have become a soundless wonder. Even the ears of the wood’s most sensitively attuned wild creatures cannot discern a natural voice. Besides the faintest flutter of a snow bead on my eyelashes, I notice the utter purity of frozen powder. I plunge my hands into the softest substance on the planet, and upon removal, voila, nothing remains in my palms, but the expected gift of cold, red skin.

Weightless snowflakes collect and build on heatless entities, while disappearing as rapidly as a child-blown bubble when landing on a warmer substance from another season. Snowfall has many grateful recipients, including trees, shrubs, and particularly the living soil. And children, especially when the season’s first snow appears. Who can resist tasting snowflakes, twirling and falling in absolute delight!

For snow to join the outdoor symphony it needs to pass through an atmospheric layer above freezing to form rain, icy sleet or hail. Then, calm yields to crunch, pelting sounds take over and silence retreats.

Unlike rain, snow sticks around. It doesn’t “run off.” Snow represents a true sponge, a slow pulse of aquifer replenishing water. The later the snowfall, the longer the summer streams will flow. Mountain snow is the best friend of irrigators and fish.

Snow is the perfect blanket for hibernators and an ideal winter home for wolverines and other active winter-adaptive creatures.

Tomorrow, we in the northern realms will be graced with an extra minute or two of daylight. What we celebrate today is the light and life force within us, our light penetrating the darkness. We also revel and embrace the peaceful chime of the moment, sending out our prayer for all to be able to capture that sense of stillness, not only on this winter night, but during all seasons, all times. ~