Snowflake by snowflake man
by rebecca ~ November 17th, 2004. Filed under: Ordinary Muse.Yesterday and today…snow, not the icy or miniature variety, but full fluffy soft snow…the same as the snow from my Minnesota childhood and so I am in love with this land and the snow that covers it.
When people grow up in tropical climates, they usually have no conception of why any human would want to live where your eyelashes and nostril hairs freeze, where your first breath outside comes out as a cough because the lungs can’t handle a sudden rush of frozen oxygen/hydrogen molecules.
Yet there is a deeper silence in a world of snow worth all the blue extremities. I can remember letting the flakes settle on my knit mittens and marveling at the delicate beauty of each unique crystal. I have to remember to do this today.
Which reminds me, do you know of Wilson A. Bentley (1865-1931), dubbed the Snowflake man? He was the first to photograph a snowflake, photographed thousands of them and none were the same. These are the wonders I live for–and if you have ever lived in a land of snow, you would probably say a prayer of gratitude with me for the muffled blue-white beauty, especially in these first days of winter.
P.S. Thankfully, I can share a Bentley snowflake with you because he never copyrighted his work; of course no one can sell his images for money either. Thanks, Snowflake man!
December 3rd, 2004 at 2:32 pm
In a perfect world, I would have the snow sans the visible breath! But I can’t have both, so I will choose the snow! It’s great to know that we are experiencing the same season at the same time…