In the middle of the night a wide band of snow began to whiten a broad swath of Dixieland’s northern parts.
As per no wind and the law of gravity, the flakes slowly eased straight down — wet flakes landing on almost every exposed surface, creating a myriad of miniature castles and cavities to muffle sounds coming from anything anywhere.
Sometime around daylight, the snowfall paused. About two inches had fallen. Then it resumed with even larger flakes. Another inch fell, then another, and another, finally ending around noon.
By then, everyone had witnessed a rarity — enough snow to create a soft and quiet landscape of exceptional beauty.
It invited, even pleaded for attention. It wanted to be played with and enjoyed before a bright sun and rising temperatures brought it to its inevitable end.
Not so many years ago, that invitation would have been eagerly accepted. There would be dogs romping in the snow, kids having snowball fights while moms and dads watched the more adventuresome fly by on a sled or piece of cardboard, make a snow man, repeatedly romp or roll in the snow or just walk in it to hear the predictable and always recognizable crunching sound.
After that, everyone with rosy cheeks and bodies to be warmed would come inside while shouting claims that their snowman looked the best or that they had won the snowball fight.
This time, however, there was noticeably less of that. With schools and businesses closed, most everyone was inside — kids snacking while staring at screens, sometimes giggling at what they saw or pushing buttons to become engaged in still more chatter and jabber.
Meanwhile, those who chose to stay outside were richly rewarded. They experienced the magical mantle of quieting whiteness converting visual beauty into a tranquil state of mind.
It was one of the best times for everyone to see Mother Nature at work. Using the world as her laboratory, she is always creating, growing, dissolving, weathering, accommodating, and providing whatever is needed by all creatures, including humans. To her, not only must we survive, we must be given the opportunity to thrive.
Regardless of what we might see or believe we see, everything in nature is logical to the point of making perfect sense. On this earth, which as far as we know is unlike any other place in the entire universe, Mother Nature is clearly in command, adding in some places, subtracting in others. For example, over the eons what was tropical changed to arctic, sea bottoms rose to become deserts, and mountains were worn down to become hills.
She invites us to not only wonder at what she has done, but to also marvel at what she is doing by continuing the processes she has had in motion for millions of years.
At the same time, she demands deep respect. Just when we think we know everything about her, we shockingly discover that we don’t. Many times and with great effort we have tried to alter her course of action, only to eventually and painfully realize we can’t.
Since the beginning, global warming has been playing tag with global freezing. Hurricanes, typhoons, monsoons, tornadoes, lightning, hail, wind, deep snow, torrential rain, wild fires, earthquakes, and tidal waves have been reshaping, reforming, and regenerating our earth.
Admire her at every chance? Please do. Use wisely what she provides? Of course. Respect her efforts to make everything work well? For sure.
In the meantime, walk away from anyone insisting a stopper be dropped into the throat of a volcano. If that was needed, Mother Nature would have done that a long time ago.
