For a while there, I was getting nervous. I knew it would eventually arrive, but I had no idea when. Well, the snow showed up and then it showed up again. And the second time was a doozy. The lights actually turned back on just a few hours ago. The storm made for a very dark Thanksgiving holiday weekend.
Early last week was the first time we received any amount of snow. Barely an inch fell, but it was enough for Laura and me to get excited about. We woke up, looked out the window, and said, “Winter’s back.” Taking advantage of the situation, I ran outside with my camera to see if a scene would pop out at me. I think I did okay. Things always look better in person, but I hope you agree the weather has done this tree justice. And I even managed to get a partial sunburst out of it. Remember, f/18 for a burst like this. As you can see, I had a cloud to contend with so the lighting isn’t nearly as pure as it could be.
That’s a balsam fir, by the way. It’s an extremely prolific tree here in Maine and it’s one of the prettiest too. The needles are soft and if broken, smell sweet, resinous, and spicy. Balsam firs are popular as Christmas trees, so we’re lucky to have hundreds, if not thousands, on the property. We actually plan on cutting down a larger one to steal the top. We only need about four feet of tree this year. We’ll place it right inside our home’s large front window. As balsam firs grow larger, their tops become very thick – perfect for desktop Christmas trees.
Much more snow fell on Thanksgiving day – probably around six inches – this time very wet. The first go-round was cold, dry, light snow (tiny flakes) and the second was thick, heavy, sticky snow (big fat flakes). The type of snow that clings to trees and electric wires and anything else that’s in its way. The type of snow that cuts the power around 5pm, just as a guy like me stands at the stove preparing a beautiful dinner. And the type of snow that wallops the entire state and creates havoc for at least 48 hours. That’s how long we went without electricity this time. But what’s strange is that even though the power outage was annoying, I think Laura and I have gotten so used to them that we really didn’t miss a beat. After the, “Oh no, not again,” we simply pulled the oil lanterns from storage, filled each one with fuel, lit them, and sat down for a romantic dinner. A good dinner. A hearty Thanksgiving dinner that consisted of turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes and squash, cranberry chutney, asparagus, and a lovely chocolate cake for dessert. The entire time, we sat in near silence, only for that silence to be broken by our talking. We’ve spent so much time like this together, and again, while inconvenient and frustrating, it’s also somehow rewarding and dare I say, something to be cherished. But there I go again. Laura will tell me I just went too far. “Tone it down, Bob. Reel it in.”
Now that a few days have passed, the soft, wet, somewhat manageable snow has frozen and transformed into what we refer to as the hard candy shell – a base that’ll last until mid-April at least. It’s an icy and crusty type of footing that’ll, if not careful when walked on, break an ankle. We don’t care for this type of snow – it makes our treks into the forest all that much more challenging. We still make those treks though because, as per tradition, we bring our coffee with us and wander extra slowly. Being winter and all, there are no bugs and even less sweat. And if the sun is shining, well, it’s just a glorious experience. Here’s to the 2024/2025 winter season.
