Snow Day!

What a great, fun day! After a few days of grousing and griping about our seemingly never-ending winter, we got hit with our second snowfall in as many months – pretty unusual for NC weather. Well, my choice was to either sit inside where it’s warm and bemoan the snow (though enjoying its prettiness, albeit out the back door) or live in the moment, bundle up and head outside with my husband and daughter. The choice was easy. After all, is there a whole lot that’s more fun than playing out in the snow with a child? We built a miniature snowman, but most of our outdoor fun is in snowball fights. I tell ya, Special Forces personnel practice for months to be able to dodge projectile missiles like my daughter can dodge snowballs!

This morning first thing my daughter and I grabbed our digital cameras and took some pictures from the back patio. My first impression was of this lovely winter wonderland. Snow- and ice-draped trees started to glow in the early morning sun that was just struggling to break through the heavy, grey clouds.

The second thing I noticed was a sole pink hyacinth, one that had, being as eager for Spring as I’ve been, poked its head up early, beginning to bloom and blossom in response to a brief spell of milder weather. Its white, yellow and lavender sisters are still in sprout stage, having not yet formed buds. I’m hoping this frigid spell with temps bottoming out in the mid-teens won’t do irreparable damage, because I’ve been anticipating their spicy sweet scent coming in the back door as the weather warms enough that we can open windows and doors again. Anyway, this one pink bloom was covered in snow, its pink hue barely discernible beneath its cold, white blanket.

For now, though, it’s time for me to slip into warm bumwear, grab lunch and curl up in front of the fireplace to enjoy a good book and the beauty of our urban winter wonderland, now marred by hundreds of muddy footprints and decorated by a 14″ snowman.