February 15, and winter finally decided show up:
And it’s awfully pretty, I gotta give it that!
Temperatures during the storm were around, even just above, the freezing point, so the snow was wet and stuck to tree branches:
Almost as pretty as a hoar frost (but requires shoveling).
(You can click on the above pics for a full-sized version if so inclined.)
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In other news, the days are getting longer quickly now. Ten hours and twenty-six minutes of daylight now. That’s 20 minutes more than a week ago and 76 minutes more than a month ago. A week from now, we’ll have 21 more minutes of daylight, and a month from now it’ll be 89 minutes more.
We’re about a month out from the Vernal Equinox. A month (or so) from now we’ll have more day than night, and summer is on its way.
I’ve been monitoring my own little Stonehenge — the light that shines through my living room skylight. This is from three days ago:
As with any Stonehenge, the light follows the season. Currently, it shines just below the arch between the living room and kitchen. By summer it falls far below that entire separation partition and shines on the table below frame just beneath that hanging lamp.
A month ago (exactly, January 15), the light barely made it out of the deep well of the skylight — only a tiny sliver squeaks past:
For about three weeks or so, no light at all makes it from the skylight down into the living room. It’s a constant reminder of how much the Sun’s path changes through the year.
And I do love having sunlight pouring into living room. Makes the place so nice and bright!
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Apropos question for the day: Can snow be said to “pour”? Specifically, in a snowstorm, can you say, “Wow! The snow is really pouring!”
Long ago — practically in another life — a girlfriend, a life-long Minnesotan, gave me static for saying that the snow was pouring. She felt snow didn’t pour, it fell. Rain poured, but not snow.
And, true, you can pour water or any liquid, and no one complains (unless you pour it on them). But, ha, you can also pour sugar or salt or even sand.
So, I say snow pours. What say you all?
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Stay pouring, my friends! Go forth and spread beauty and light.
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Logos con carne 
February 15th, 2024 at 9:46 am
Conventional wisdom is that you should always end your post by asking your readers a question to inspire them to comment. But I’ve never liked the Pavlovian feel of that. I’d like to think my readers are self-actualized and intelligent enough to not need prompting.
What say you all? 😁
February 15th, 2024 at 9:47 am
As of yesterday, there was no snow anywhere. We’ve had weeks of unusually warm temperatures. And while we’ve been dusted a few times this “winter”, this is the most show we’ve gotten so far.
On the other hand, March and April are famously snowy months, especially in these days of belated winters.
February 15th, 2024 at 1:12 pm
Love the sun watching through the skylight. I do the same, yet my apartment faces due south.(Picked this one for that reason. And it has a view of where I used to live – high in the Rockies.)
Anyway, so the shortest day of year, the sunshine reaches nearly to the back wall of the space. It’s rapidly retreating now. In winter, the sun (passive solar heat) heats the apartment to 74 degrees, during the day (when it’s out).
~I’ve seen snow pour. Just like “god” was pouring it down out of a pitcher, like sugar or flour.
~Yeah, me too about the question gimmick. Doesn’t work.
February 15th, 2024 at 2:06 pm
Southern exposure is really important to me, too. The skylight was instrumental to my buying this place. And it’s fun watching the Sun shift throughout the year.
Yeah, snow definitely pours. I think she was just giving me a hard time.
February 15th, 2024 at 3:22 pm
Gorgeous snow! I love it when it first comes down and is untainted by footprints and track marks.
Can snow pour? Maybe. I think the main issue is how the snow is falling. I can’t quite picture snow pouring, but I wouldn’t say it’s impossible either. In the case of sugar and salt, I think of pouring as a liquid-like motion.
February 16th, 2024 at 10:40 am
Yeah, it’s especially nice when it’s pristine. As you no doubt recall from Vermont, it gets pretty grungy over time. (And don’t you eat that yellow snow!)
I agree the way snow can drift down when falling isn’t “pouring” but a heavy snowfall, especially if it’s a little wet, that seems a whole other proposition. In that state, it’s getting close to being rain. But true that just about everything we inarguably “pour” has a liquid character. I claim a little artistic and metaphorical license! “Pouring” snow evokes the notion of a heavy snowfall. Like having sand poured on you!
February 18th, 2024 at 2:54 pm
I think you can say snow is “pouring.” The only equivalent I can think of for non-liquid substances would be “dumping,” which doesn’t sound quite right. And might possibly strike one as a bit vulgar.
February 19th, 2024 at 8:46 am
Ha! Yeah, there is a vulgar connotation, but I have heard people say something along the line of, “Man, that weather system really dumped a lot of snow on us!” So, dumping might be acceptable — if used right. 😄
But now you’ve got me mind-searching for other words for dumping/pouring non-liquid substances. One sometimes “sifts” sand, flour, or gravel, but I don’t think that’s quite the same thing…