Thunder Snow… It has been a quiet weekend here in our little house on the hill. Friday, a lovely sunny day, included the usual weekday busy-ness. The weather report predicted heavy snowfall, so in the late afternoon I decided to tackle a job I’d put off all week; bringing in and stacking a load of firewood. Three hundred logs later, the fresh cool air had turned icy cold and the wind had become frantic.
I made a warm supper of spicy pumpkin soup and grilled cheese sandwiches. As we finished dinner and peeked out the front door, Haiku noticed that a cold rain was falling. Limerick and I went outside to tuck in a few loose edges, and the rain turned to wet, heavy snow. Hurrying inside, we closed the door on the wintry blast and threw another log on the fire in the woodstove.
As on most Friday evenings, the kids and I piled onto the big queen-sized bed to watch an episode of Ghost Whisperer. The lights were off, the program was a bit spooky, and every once in a while, distant lightening tinted the curtains at the big double window in the master bedroom. All of a sudden, we felt thunder rock the house. The sound and tremor lingered for a long drawn-out moment while our eyes grew wide in wonder.
Thunder snow happens so rarely. It is one of those gifts of nature that cannot be held in one’s hand. One can only wonder at it… and then let it go.
Inside our home, we were warm and cozy under the big green crazy quilt my grandmother stitched from polyester remnants many years ago. Outdoors, the earth was tucked into a whole-cloth quilt, which remained pure white and pristine until morning. Before breakfast was even made, that new-fallen snow wore the tracery of little feet making trails, and the tracks of large snow balls being rolled. With red cheeks and bright eyes, Sijo and Tanka came in for apple cinnamon waffles, fresh from the waffle-iron. I sipped my coffee while they ate, looking out the window at the snow shrouding my garden, and I was thankful for a weekend with nothing to do but sit at home with my family.
photos by Haiku, November 11, 2006
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