First Snow of the Winter

 

The snow started falling yesterday afternoon, big wet flakes drifting down from the dark grey sky. Today I woke to a changed world, a white landscape, the first snow of the winter. Until now November has been mild rather than wintry. Snow usually arrives earlier than the middle of the month, often in October. It's late this year.

The snow was soft and deep out in the open, making walking hard work. In the trees it was just a thin layer, most of it on the branches rather than the ground. Not quite enough snow for skis but snowshoes would have made the going easier. I wasn't in a hurry anyway. I wasn't going anywhere, I was just out here to enjoy the changed landscape, admire the snowy trees, feel the bite of the wind, the wet touch of the occasional flurry of snow, experience this first taste of winter.

The sky was a mass of layered clouds in different shades. Patches of blue burst out at times, then golden touches from the low sun. In the distance the hills were hidden, draped in greyness. 

The conifers - pine, larch, spruce - looked heavy and big, muscular even, their limbs enlarged by the snow. The birches however looked even more delicate than ever, the snow forming an elegant fragile tracery on their twigs. 

A few snow showers swept over me, the northerly wind increased. As the light faded I headed for home and a warming mug of hot chocolate.