Snowy Snow, Mainey Maine

And so it goes

the snowy snow

of this Mainey Maine 

winter

Another world

this quiet white coated world

Swirly drifts

and startling sun bright

. . .

. . . but there is work to be done

to clear a path

from here to there

and there to here

xx

White Pasture (with a nod to Robert Frost)

I'm going out to brush the snow away

I shan't be gone long

You come, too.

mm?

xx

Transitions

So one day it was like this

(above)

all dozy mesmerizing autumn

and

two days later 

giant nor'easter

blows into town

lashing power lines

and blasting trees

and yet

amid the

no heat

no water

no power

these candles

allowed me to 

write

straight through

to the

ending

of a first draft

oh yeah

that felt soooo good.

You writers out there

will know the feeling,

mm?

xx

The Red Barn

So much depends

upon

an old red

barn

wearing green

wreaths

beside the white

tree

xx

(With a nod and apologies to William Carlos Williams)

(click to enlarge)

Ice and Snow

So: 

we've had snow and ice

and ice and snow

and rain and sleet

and sleet and rain

and snow and ice

and so it goes

You can hardly breathe

it is so beautiful:

(*Click to enlarge. Stick your face right in there. xx)

So much depends upon . . .

so much depends

upon

a white frozen

pond

near the dark

mountain

beneath the blue

winter

sky

xx

It's all about the snow . . .

It's been all about the snow

these last few days

You are hypnotized

You have to stop and stare

such a world

such wild and stunning beauty

The kids are going to have

such fun

such jumping

and flopping

and sliding

and digging out

and the sun and snow and shadows

are arrayed

before you

and you smile smile smile

don'tcha?

xx

Snow in Maine

Almost wordless Sunday:

Snow in Maine

12-30-12

xx

Spring Snow

Last week

in shorts and tee shirt

I was digging in the garden

This morning

the snow began

and it snowed and snowed

all day long

and is still snowing now

like the white pages

of a manuscript:

a few pages at first

and then more

and more

until

it is so thick and deep

you could get

lost

in

it.

xx

The Transforming Power of Snow

The much-awaited blizzard arrives

and transforms the dull browns

begone brown!

hellooooo white!

and just when I'd been thinking

Why don't we live in the South?

the answer comes

in pure white mounds

and vast vistas of white 

and silver

and gold.

Love that snow.

Do you?

Snowstorm

Last night, in the midst of the howling winds of a winter storm, the power went out for several hours. A good excuse to have dinner by candlelight and a fire in the fireplace.

Could even work with the aid of candles:

Much contemplation of life-before-electricity, so utterly dependent are we . . .

This morning, we awoke to a blue-white scene (view from the office):

The power is back on, the tea is hot, and the snow falls outside while I resume work inside:

Are you back to work or school today, mm?

Snow

No snow on Christmas Eve or Christmas Day

or the two days following

but when the guests - who were craving snow -

left

down came the snow.

It happens.

November

A hawk hovering in our yard, waiting to scoop up dinner in the form of a chipmunk.

Squirrel stopping for a snack on the steps.

I am inside, writing my words, my mind half in and half out of the window.

Snow Caps

While the latest manuscript is with editor and I'm awaiting comments for revision, it is time to fill up the internal well.  Breathe. Get outside and gape.  The latest snows have left soft caps and puffs everywhere:

I like this one on a bird's nest:

And these in the pines:

The snow is so light and soft and white that you want to eat it or lie down in it.
Well. At least I do.

Snow Terrain

 

I tried to get these two photos side by side in order to show the wide expanse of our frozen and snow-covered lake, but I was not able to merge them as I hoped.  That's my husband out there, testing the ice.  It felt as if we might be on the Alaskan tundra: snow as far as the eye could see and, except for the thin line of the opposite shore, a beautiful blue-white light enveloping all.

We followed many animal tracks. Deer tracks led in a straight line across the lake; rabbit tracks disappeared into bushes; and squirrel tracks (below) led from tree nests to holes dug in the snow and dirt to retrieve nuts, and back to tree and up to nest:

Snow at the Lake, again

We continue to have beautiful, gentle snowfalls of about three-to-six inches nearly every day. The snow changes everything, all is new, and you (I) want to take a thousand photos . . .

The lake is frozen. Snow covers that vast expanse (in the background here):

I had been out on cross-country skis; that's my husband in the photo, on snowshoes. Afterwards, he said, "I don't really get the point of snowshoes."

The vistas are surreal and the close-ups are magical. These are down at the lake's edge:

 

And me, I am twenty feet tall:

Night, all . . .