SNOW!

Snow! It's early; last year, our first snowfall was in the middle of December. It sprinkled off and on all day, but after dark started in earnest. When I looked out at midnight, it was about an inch deepp.

I tried to get photos, putting the camera on a tripod and reducing the speed to one second. It didn't work; one photo was blown out, the rest too dark. I ended up going outside in my night clothes and sock feet to take photos with flash.

My little stone angel, hugging her knees to keep warm.

The flash freezes the snowflakes, showing them up as perfect little pentagons. The colours here are "noisy", and they make me think of NASA photos of deep space, with all the stars. Five-sided stars, but who's counting? 

Snowflakes falling, falling, against the backdrop of our cedars.

I love to watch it snow, especially at night. It is so silent, so peaceful, softening all the outlines, hiding the work not finished, and yet so inexorable, falling and piling up steadly, relentlessly.

And I love the morning light through my window when it has snowed overnight. It has a different quality than everyday sunlight or cloudy sky light; it's cleaner, fresher, more revealing, even in the shadows. A blue light without the overtones of yellow from normal daylight, it changes the look of rooms, making them look airy and cool.

I'm looking forward to the morning, so I'd better go to bed. G'night!