The forecast warned us, but I didn’t believe it until I saw it early Sunday morning. It wasn’t much, merely a skiff, or, perhaps more appropriately, a whiff of snow.
I can’t remember the last time we had snow this early. More commonly, we get our first snow closer to Halloween, often the next morning. But before Alaska Day (October 18th)? I can’t recall.
Despite my doubts, I counted on snow coming before forecasted rain to give me a bit more time stowing the firewood. I didn’t need it—I got it all into the woodshed the day before—but it offered a bit of leeway, as snow sweeps off of wood rather than soaking in. Thankfully, it didn’t prove to be an issue.
As early as it may seem, it’s nice to see it. Not only that, it’s nice to smell it! The air feels fresh and cold, a whiff of winter! This won’t stick around long, likely, so we’ll just enjoy it as long as we can, then move on to the next weather event.
Ironically, this comes right at the time when the old Northern Europeans and ancient Romans observed Winter’s Day a day apart from each other, when long distance sailing and other summer time activities got set aside for winter pursuits (see October 14th—Winter’s Day). Almost right on schedule, we get a whiff of winter to remind us that, while it may not actually be upon us, it’s hard by, and coming soon.