A Whiff of Winter

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.

(Photo: Sarah A. Zeiger.)

(Photo: Sarah A. Zeiger.)33

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.

(Photo: Sarah A. Zeiger.)

(Photo: Sarah A. Zeiger.)

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.

(Photo: Sarah A. Zeiger.)

(Photo: Sarah A. Zeiger.)

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.

(Photo: Sarah A. Zeiger.)

(Photo: Sarah A. Zeiger.)

This entry was posted in Weather, Tides & Geography and tagged . Bookmark the permalink.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *