Sunshine and temperatures in the middle sixties is my kind of weather but I still have some longings for snow in December.  You must understand there is nothing I can find pleasant about shoveling heavy and wet snow.  Old friends in upstate New York have been making the rounds of sidewalks and driveways for several weeks and they also aren’t making any endorsements.  December snow certainly isn’t unusual “up there” although it hasn’t been very common in recent years past.  January is a far different story and what falls can come in feet and not inches and continue well past April first.  Snow in December is quaint but after the turn of the year it’s a major cause for depression in a part of the world even gray throughout much of the summer months.  Blame that on the large humidors named Lakes Ontario and Erie. 

No, I don’t miss this dreary onslaught yet last week there were those moments of appreciation for the darker months.  One year ago today I started working in a postal sorting center.  For several weeks we worked every day and often for 12 hours a shift and sometimes even more.   I didn’t see much sun.  Then January came and when I would get home at sunrise there was snow to shovel and then a long day’s sleep.  All of that is past and I’m happy with my current lot in life but still enjoy searching for Currier and Ives views of the season.  Like the one I saw driving to Georgetown last Thursday.  Along Route 5 the snow from 36 hours earlier still glazed the trees and under a bright sky offered a crystalline view of some very handsome forest lands.  As I said in a previous column there are places on this peninsula looking remarkably like the Adirondacks.  The roads here are straighter and there aren’t hills but when surrounded by trees you don’t notice the lack for them.  Last Thursday morning offered some moments where one considered stopping the car and taking several moments to stare at the artistry of snow encrusted trees.  Something I didn’t do because I’m so well socialized I don’t want other drivers to believe I’ve pulled off the road to commune with nature in other ways. 

It was still a sight to behold clipping by at 45 miles per hour.  The next day carried some similar reactions at a different venue.  Friday morning I made a breakfast appointment in Lewes and when I was driving home near the Baywood subdivision I looked into a sky not yet clouded by an advancing front.  It was streaked with those clouds resembling the slashing of a brush stroke.  There were birds skating across this picture and it’s at these moments I’m overwhelmed by creation. 

Christmas, in my memory, was always snow covered and the house was warm and filled with the scent of a roasting bird.  The one, I suppose, lacking skating skills.  Maybe I won’t see my old memories this year but how wonderful these new visions are in what they tell me about the glory of God.
 

This entry was posted on Wednesday, December 12th, 2007 at 10:00 am and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.