January 30, 2010

Day I - Falling Snow

I'm from California.  I'm sure you've heard of it.  It's that place that has sunshine nearly every day of the year and where snow only falls high in the mountains.  Specifically, I'm from Sacramento, which is down in a valley.  Snow there is a 30 year or so rarity.  It doesn't rain much there either and so 4 years ago, I moved to Seattle.  And contrary to popular belief, it is not always raining there - it just seems like it does.  Since Seattle is at a higher latitude, I asked locals about snow.  They said it doesn't usually snow.  I guessed then there were winters where it never snowed.  Imagine my surprise when for the next 3 years, not only was there snow but it was so cold that the snow compressed and froze, lingering for a week if not more.  It only snowed once or twice but boy was it beautiful and special.  

Now I'm living in inland Germany.  It is winter and it has been snowing at least a little bit nearly every day for the past month.  Naturally I am rather tired of it by now since it hinders my mobility and makes for depressing walks to the grocery store.  But the snow is still beautiful and special even though it falls every day.  Watching the snow gently come down and cover the local cat's footprints while also coating the trees in white is a daily event.  The pleasure of sipping hot tea and reading a good book is also augmented by the regular precipitation.  It's just so funny to realize that I've seen more snow fall in the past month than I had in my whole life until now.

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