Wednesday, January 19, 2011

New Traditions: Alabama Snow

Every year, we trek north to visit Paw Paw, Nanny, Aunt A and the horses. And every year, we miss The Snow. Without fail, it escapes us by several days. Until this past weekend, Big B and little b had never experienced snow. I have been shown photographs of Aunt S and me in the snow as little ones, but do not remember it in my mind's photo album. So when we arrived in northern Alabama at sunrise Saturday morning and saw a winter wonderland, the magic infused us--instantly.
We spent the first morning of our visit out in Paw Paw's backyard, feeling the snow, throwing it, building with it, crunching in it. Exploring it. Experiencing it. Loving it.
Paw Paw and Nanny live next to a very old family cemetery. Respectfully we explored the hallowed grounds, reflecting on death, birth, and rebirth, these stone markers of life covered in white blankets and then peeking out again. Very powerful.
I am so thankful that we all were there together to experience this cleansing. It felt good just to play, to run, to look, to feel cold, and to come inside afterward and have a warm bubble bath and a hot bowl of Paw Paw's chili.
I think we'll try to time our visits more according to the weather than the calendar, from now on. This was too good to miss again.
“There is nothing in the world more beautiful than the forest clothed to its very hollows in snow.
It is the still ecstasy of nature, wherein every spray,
every blade of grass, every spire of reed,
every intricacy of twig, is clad with radiance.”
-William Sharp

5 comments:

Rose said...

SNOW!! What could be better? In the way that northerners need to come and warm up on our beaches come February, we too need to go play in the snow a few days a year. It truly is magical stuff.

quiltingnana said...

lovely post

Liz ~ A Natural Nester said...

Yay! I am so glad to see you got to play in the snow. My gals need this experience too... magical!

catching caterpillars said...

BEAUTIFUL!!!!!! lovely shots! what an experience!!!!!!!

Nancy said...

Looks like they had a lot of fun--what wonderful memories they will have!

I'm sure wandering through that cemetary is fascinating--there is so much to ponder when you read old tombstones--wondering about lives long gone.