What is it about the snow that keeps me calling?

It’s not a great headline but it sets me up for introspection. From the very first encounter with snow, my affinity for snow has remained strong, if not grown over the years.

Today I was looking through my photos from December 2021 and photographs of snow are many. It’s quite predictable given that I live in Ontario and I am a snow-enthusiast.

A snowy twilight in Sawmill Creek

What is it about the snow – that keeps me calling? I pondered for a while but ended up with no concrete answers. I arrived at many assumptions though.

1. It’s possibly snow’s serenading sense of calm that attracts me – the fact that there are not many vehicles on the road, on sidewalks and in trails. I don’t have anything against people, but as I grow older, I am enjoying the peace and quiet more than the buzz and chatter.
2. I find myself gravitating towards trails and hills rather than cities even when it is not snowing. While I love the energy of the city, I also love the reciprocity of nature. During snowy days, watching snow fall through trees, cling to barren branches and clump up in all kinds of natural habitats is more pleasurable than slushy city roads where smoke from vehicles stay in the thick atmosphere, making it very evident that I am inhaling polluted air.
3. The birds. I can never get enough of them. During my walks in winter, I wonder how they manage to stay warm enough – not only to merely survive, but also to thrive – to sing and make merry! Snowy trails are always filled with birds – at least where I live and often I stop by to watch them tweet from the shrubbery that acts as a natural protection from the cold, and provides them wild grapes sweetened by time and the freezing cold.
4. The slow cadence of snow has a calming effect on me. Is it their unhurriedness that soothes my mind, or is it because of their captivating nature that I forget to think and overthink? It’s an effortless thing for anyone who loves the snow – to get lost watching snow fall. Getting lost in a beautiful spectacle means time away from one’s own worries and thoughts – an escape to an oasis of calm.

I tell myself to make the most of it while it lasts. I don’t know what tomorrow holds with the realities about climate change looming large.

December in Notre Dame Cathedral, Montreal

It’s about time to step out for a night stroll in the snow.