FIRST SNOW

I was so grateful for shelter as I watched people hurrying on foot to get to their destinations as the snow fell.  It was beautiful the way the snow lit up the night. It began falling yesterday afternoon and continued into the wee hours of the morning. From every window, I admired it until I decided, this afternoon, to encounter it directly. It was an entirely different experience. From the warmth of the indoors, it looked like fluffy, white frosting. The droplets of ice sparkled like diamonds on the branches of the trees, and the sun amplified it all.  Once outside, however, it crunched under my feet and held on for dear life to the roof, windshield, and trunk of the car. Armed with an umbrella, I thought I could just brush it off. Frankly, the umbrella served as a decent scraper. (Where's the scraper?) I'll see how the umbrella really felt about it the next time it rains.
I noticed several things as I ventured out. The air seemed awfully clean, but a reminder of my bout with the flu discouraged me from breathing it in any longer than I had to. The streets were clean, too, and traffic was light.
As cold as it was today, the scenery really was stunning. I'm glad I wasn't too stunned to notice the needle on the gas gauge. Running out of gas in any weather isn't fun, and today was not the day to be stuck outside or stranded. DC is no Minnesota or Wisconsin, weather-wise, but it's COLD!