winter in the hills

we've had snow on the ground for almost two weeks now. the first snow of the season, which, much to mandie's delight, arrived just before thanksgiving, was the perfect sort. it drifted down beautifully. gave us a show and quickly melted off all roads and travel routes. the rest of that snow melted away the following day. the second snow was pretty much the same except that the snow remained on the slopes and shaded areas until the third snow arrived last week. temperatures have been well below the norm, rising above freezing only occasionlly and only long enough to allow the snow to melt slightly before refreezing. After several thaw/refreeze cycles, the snow now glistens with a magical wintery sheen and begs for sledders.

the last snow quickly changed to the dreaded "wintery mix" - treacherous for driving and difficult to remove. it left behind a coat of ice too thick to be melted by deicing salts. i had to chisel the ice from the sidewalk, the driveway, and off my car before i could leave for work. while i don't particularly enjoy chiseling ice, i was quite entertained by nature's winter orchestra. This is the type of entertainment that you can't find in the noisy city.

it began with tubes of ice falling from the power lines. as the ice melted, a strip several feet long would sheer away from the lines and crash onto the frozen tundra below. as each section pulled away from the power line, it would drag several more pieces with it, creating 3-4 sequential ice on ice crashes. a few moments later, the ice percussions were accompanied by the loud cracking of horse hooves bantering through the icy pasture across the street. next, the thunderous sound of 200 or so cows trudging through the frozen hills as they made their way to greener grazing fields. it was a loud and magestic symphony. later in the evening, toby (our dog) and i startled several deer down in the eastern section of the yard. they graze there almost every evening, but they are still timid towards people. it's too bad we scared them off, but listening to them sprint across the moonlit frozen snow was another gentle reminder of just how great it is to be out here where nature still abounds.

when we moved out here to the hills, i wondered if i would miss the convenience of having the endless entertainment of the city so close at hand. as it turns out, we have plenty of entertainment, albeit a different variety, right here on the western slope of the shenandoahs. ah, life in the hills - it is as wonderful as i had hoped it would be.