Frolic in the Snow

(Forest Park, Art Hill Sledding 2010- I haven't photographed this year's snow yet, so this photo will do.)


Sadly, those who live in places like Florida or Southern California may have a hard time frolicking in snow, but Tucson, AZ had a sudden "blizzard" this week, so miracles can happen! Except for the years I lived in South Carolina between the ages of 6-10 and then in Tucson from 21-26, I have lived most of my life in places with snow seasons. While there are aspects of each season that are unpleasant, winter is rarely listed as anyone's "favorite season". If asked, I would say my favorite seasons are Spring and Fall because of the light contrasts, arrays of flowers and leaves, and more mild temperatures. While I love the green of the summer with all of its sun-filled, fun-filled days of festivals and outdoor concerts in parks, I like winter too, for its quietness and rest, the potential for snow, and even the fresh, deep chilled air that allows me to walk briskly without sweating through my clothes.

This winter, if you are fortunate enough to experience a snowfall, do all of the snow related activities! Have a snowball fight, go sledding, go ice skating, drink hot chocolate or tea. When I was a child in New York, I remember carving an igloo out of a massive mound of snow left by a plow and racing my neighbors down hill in the woods on our garbage can lids. I remember walking through the woods "the long way" home to their house for a bit of a wilderness adventure and feeling my heart skip a beat when our legs would plummet through a loose pile of leaves disguised by the snow. In Missouri, my little brother and I played with the dog at the park in the snow eating snowflakes, or I would take quiet walks in the snowfall, enjoying the silence and the soft flutter of snowflakes brushing the tree branches.

Find a unique way to enjoy the snow for yourself. Take photos of individual snowflakes like Wilson Bentley, or sit inside by a window and write a poem. The year the above photo was taken, on a relatively bearable day without wind, I decided to have a snow picnic. I bought a pre-made sandwhich and other goodies from the grocery store and went to Forest Park in search of a place to sit. I found a boulder on the rim of the lake and sat there eating my lunch and talking to my sister on the phone while admiring the frozen, snow covered water.