"And tree & house and hill & lake, are frosted like a wedding cake."
Robert Louis Stevenson.
If I could take you with me on a walk today I would share the beauty of the forest & woods in the hills above my house and point out all of my favourite woodland tracks. Since I cannot do this I will try to share this experience with you through my photos and a written description of the beauty that unfolds when the first snowflakes fall and settle.
What is it about snow that turns the ordinary into the magical?
" The first fall of snow is not only an event but it is a magical event. You go to bed in one kind of world and wake up to find yourself in another quite different world, and if this is not enchantment, where is it to be found? "
JB Priestley
How do I share the smell of snow, sharp and clean and watery? What words can I choose to describe the squeaking sound that dry snow makes when it is crunched underfoot? I might tell you of the elegant outlines of tree branches. I would want to convey the soft muffling of ever greens with a duvet of white fluffy snow.
If I was a poet I might choose words that convey layers of sparkling white light sprinkled with pine green. Robert Louis Stevenson compares thick snow to the frosting of a wedding cake.
If I were and artist I would paint with slabs of chalky white, smudged with pale pistachio greens and chocolatey browns. ( I was in London yesterday to attend the ballet and took the opportunity to visit the Impressionist area of the National Gallery. The photo below is of Monet's painting of snow.)
I watched many owners walking dogs yesterday. There was excitement in the air. I wonder what fresh snow is like for them? What would a dog share to convey the experience of a winter wonderland? The adventure of salty cold feet caked in crusty snow. The excitement of exploring a transformed world of new horizons with different smells and a bright reflective light.
Snow changes our reality. It gives us wings to fly, releasing the imagination, opening the door into our own spectacular unfolding story. I expect it is no coincidence that the famous Chronicles of Narnia, 'The Lion, the witch & the wardrobe,' start with a tale of a magical landscape of snow hidden inside the wardrobe. Stories help us understand our world. The land of Narnia opens up the concept of eternity and helps us to understand a supernatural existence outside of our time restrictions. It paints a picture of a different reality.
When it snows I want the glory to remain longer. But I know my time is limited. I know I need to seize the opportunity to get out and walk and photograph before it melts.
When the snow melts and the beauty dissolves I grieve the passing of this fairytale world.
" If we find ourselves with a desire that nothing in this world can satisfy, the most probable explanation is that we were made for another world. " C. S. Lewis
' He has also planted eternity in men's hearts and minds.' Ecclesiastes 3:11
I love the way that snow opens that door into eternity for me. I was made for another world and I have no problem embracing this. Snow helps my imagination to soar. It is comforting. It takes the mundane and makes it glorious. For me snow represents a big hug from heaven. A fore taster of the reality of eternity which I will one day enter.