The first snow brings deep silence to the woods. The calls of the cardinal and nuthatch snuffed for a moment as they nuzzle their beaks into their warm nests and wait for the flakes to stop falling. I am warmed by the goose down jacket I wear and socks and a hat made of wool. Without them I would surely freeze. I am sometimes envious of the wild creatures who have natural coats to warm them. The temperature is now only 18 degrees and the wind chill close to zero. 

There is a certain joy I have in making the first path of bootprints across the landscape following a snow. I love the sound of them crunching through the thin layer of ice and pushing down through the powder below.  I love watching the dogs throw up puffs of glimmering crystals with their noses and feet as they play together. Their excitement is contagious, but it does not transfer to the cats. They stay inside and warm themselves in the rays of sun that peak through the windows as the storm moves off to the north east.

Often the snow will melt and lose its appeal fairly quickly in Central Virginia. But we are experiencing a cold spell with temperatures below freezing forecasted for at least a week. I am happy that the white blanket will stay for a bit longer. It brings a brightness to the landscape and the blue of the sky above seems much deeper and profound.

Long shadows stretch of trees

Crisscrossing the snow

Slowly the prints arrive

First the field mouse

Then the cottontail

They don’t break through

The drifts like mine

A strong wind will

Blow their tracks away

But I know they are still here

Warming themselves in deep burrows

Noses tucked tightly within coats

Fluffed fully for the long winter night