Snowfall

Snowflake after snowflake gently swirl down to rest on the growing white blanket, covering what was once grass. It's a completely different world when it snows. A frosty, white one that seems to be one endless conformity. Everything looks the same. Nothing is different. It is just all white, and hidden by the thin veil of snowflakes falling. Naked branches of trees are garbed in white, as well as the full green branches of evergreens. Roads are smoothed over with the soft down of snow, and drivers try to stay indoors. Children press their faces and hands against the window, trying to discern the shape of each particular snowflake. Their eagerness can hardly be contained as they think of snowball fights, snowmen, and snowforts, yet they still manage to stare solemnly and quietly at the blinding white, with the occasional 'Look at all the snow!' How different their reactions are to what adults think upon seeing snow; will they be able to drive, will their spouse make it home from work safely, will it clear up by tomorrow? The worries and reality of the world has not yet breached the innocence of children's minds, and one only hopes that it will remain that way for as long as possible.

But whether adult or child, the beauty of snow falling is not lost upon the human mind. It's those first moments of pure white, untainted precipitation that stuns man into silence, quietly appreciating the raw beauty of nature. There's only the few hours to enjoy snow at its greatest, when it is still completely au naturel, and before dirt has been mixed in, ice has been formed, and the once pure whiteness plowed. The spell that entranced so many breaks, and children enjoy the snow as they play and adults remark on how dirty it is. But those few hours are not forgotten- it is those few hours that remind us why we love snow, and why every year it continues to fascinate us when it first falls.