Southern snow…

Yes,  we know it’s just a sprinkle of snow,  but down South,  especially in the Deep South,  snow generally translates into “light snow mist” or “a light dusting”.     And that’s generally what it is,   just little flakes that melt on contact with anything,  or perhaps a coating which looks like powdered sugar on my greenhouse roof,  easily managed without any snow removal plans or equipment.   And yes,  we country folk who can drive on red mud can handle snow and ice just fine, thank you.

But last Friday was real snow in an unusual number of places.   My property got about 6 inches,  with enough catching in the pine and cedar trees to make them Christmas card pretty.   I could never get my flock of cardinals to line up in a snowy tree as they did a number of years ago  — they were too busy bullying each other at the feeders,  along with wrens,  titmice,  sparrows  — even a couple of Baltimore Orioles were on the ground looking for spills.

I’m not a particular fan of squirrels because they’re forever trying to steal my fruits and veggies,  but I tossed out some corn for them, and a package of nuts I found at the back of the freezer.  A lot of scraps I normally compost went outside on tray feeders and aluminum pie pans set on fence posts,  along with some meat scraps for raccoons and other varmints,   bread intended for crumbs and croutons,  and some lard past its prime.   Yes,  I know lard is a demon substance according to the food nannies,  but certain recipes DEMAND it,  and it keeps nearly forever.

The first of our snow was wet and heavy,  so I had to scrape it off the greenhouse roof,   even with the overhead lights on.   And some hours later,  the light fluffy kind had built up,  so I had to make another scraping run.   Snow is very cold when it goes down your neck,  or in your boots because you’re so busy taking photos you don’t realize you’re about to step into a drift…

Thankfully,  Saturday was sunny and clear,   so I stopped taking water out for the wild things to drink,  but there is still an amazing amount of snow still on the cold ground,  even in the sun.   I’ve seen more snow than this before  in Switzerland  and Austria,  but this is out of the ordinary.

This was very beautiful to see,  not much difficulty inconvenience,   and no danger,  but I’ll be glad for it to go.