This is one time of the day when I try setting my eyes on a nice article on the web or watch a DVD sipping Sierra Mist. However right now, all I read were updates flashing on the weather channel:
'A winter storm complete with heavy snow, flooding rains and damaging winds will slam the region Thursday...' Gosh when will the winter fury leave North East?? Last snowstorm, our neighbor built a Snowman some 20ft tall..it was awesome! Clicked some snaps on the afternoon we went out for a short drive. Even took some shots of a beautiful half-frozen lake nearby. The ducks swimming in the part that was still in the liquid state, made it look even prettier.
Having a white weather is always pleasant for the eyes but painful for those who have to shovel all the snow and tackle the 'black ice' on the roads. Last snowstorm (rather snowpocalypse)I remember we did something different. My husband and I went out for a walk at 12.30am when the blizzard was on. It wasn't more than 0 degree centigrade and apart from the snow hitting our face, the walk was interesting. We came back tracing our own footsteps. I guess, we two were the only crazy souls in Maple Shade, walking in the middle of the night, in the middle of a blizzard and for no reason at all! I loved every moment of it because it was unique, something which I never did before. For my folks back home, it's a fact that the temperature is not that cold when it snows. It drops drastically when it starts melting. As I understand, snow absorbs heat energy from the surroundings in the process making the temperatures drop even more.
Now for another good part of a snowstorm is people getting an option to work from home..yey yey!! *Please neglect the negative aspects of snow cleaning and rare power cuts. I am really trying to cheer up people like me who don't really prefer winter storms :D
So just make sure you have an efficient shovel at home, enough grocery done for 2-3 days, trash cleaned up, mails dropped in time, keep a good stock of DVDs, books..just in case you get tired from working, phoning, blogging, gaming,cleaning, cooking, taking videos of your dog playing in the snow, etc etc..oh that's already a big list.
ALSO, do remember to keep the wipers of your car up. If you've ever forgotten to do so before the storm hits, you'll know exactly what I mean.
It's funny when people ask me how exciting it is when it snows. I lived all my life in a city where we were most moved by the Norwesters, known as 'Kalbaisakhi' during early summer.
You would not believe the countless songs and brilliant poetry composed, beautifying the thunderstorms. That signified a relief from the hot, dry summer, welcoming the rains, a sign of green, a melody for the peasants, the starving earth quenching it's thirst with every drop. A time for little hands building paper boats and sailing in the accumulated rain water, a time to dance and celebrate, washing every dirt inside out..a time for imaginations to soar high as if with every strike of lightning, your heart awakens, dazzled and shivering like a scared deer..lost in the woods, yet finding a place among the most eloquent clouds.
When the Earth embraces Kalbaisakhi your mind sings out loud
"Like a rain-cloud of July
hung low with its burden of unshed showers
let all my mind bend down at thy door in one salutation to thee.."
(taken from Gitanjali)
I sometimes wonder how Tagore would describe every snowstorm..the master himself would surely find a way to connect every block of ice and snow with the living world. I wonder how would he dream of a 'white Christmas'. Would it be entirely white or would it still hold some colors of life, flashbacks of the past, dreams of the future..only he can answer.
It's not important how we react..it's important how we feel, how we change..Does the seasonal changes in nature affect our nature too? Tell me how it impacts you..am all ears...!
(pic courtesy for Kalbaisakhi-TrekEarth gallery)
