First Snow!

I awoke to white snow everywhere!  There's something about the first snow of the season. Snowflakes swirling, drifting, dancing, and alighting everywhere. Spectacular! Each flake is unique; mother nature's creative hand turning frozen crystalized water into artistic beauty. Awe-struck, I am filled with wonder, gratitude and joy.

Walking this morning was brutal; harsh winds made it feel like the tundra rather than central Illinois.  But Payton loved it!  He runs, jumps, and dives into the white fluffy stuff like a puppy's first winter adventure...

The Storm
Now through the white orchard my little dog
romps, breaking the new snow
with wild feet.
Running here running there, excited,
hardly able to stop, he leaps, he spins
until the white snow is written upon 
in large, exuberant letters,
a long sentence, expressing
the pleasures of the body in this world.
Oh, I could not have said it better!


by Mary Oliver