The First Snow of 2021

The first snow of the 2020-2021 winter season in Texas leaves little to be desired. Why, Mother Earth? Christmas and Thanksgiving and Halloween are supposed to be the epicenter for cold weather, sweaters, cozying up by the fire, next to the person you love. So, why snow now, on Valentine's Day, of all the days? I should know better than to expect each year to be the same, sometimes it snows in November, sometimes it snows in March. Every state can probably claim they experience all the seasons in one day, but after living in Texas almost my whole life and traveling to other states, I am a little biased to say Texas wins that debate. This Winter blast is rather surprising but I can't say we weren't warned that it was coming soon. Temperatures started dropping about a week ago from 60º Fahrenheit to 30º Fahrenheit. Although it's not completely reliable, the Texas weather apps, were on the money with this one. (Sometimes the readings are a little off is all I mean.)

As I lay in bed, tossing and turning all night, I wondered if it were true that the skies would open up with our recent temperature drop and bless us with the sweet, unique frosty water that descend from the clouds. To my amazement and after getting close to no sleep at all, I opened the curtain to my bedroom window to reveal a thin sheet of white snow and more flurries raining down. Even the concrete in the corridor of the apartment building is lined with random bits of snow. All night, I could hear the wind howling and the apartment echo and creak as the snow fell and settled in its place. I'm not sure how my neighbors will enjoy this call from nature, but hopefully it will be a welcome sign to stay safe and warm at home.

Looking out my window here, in the place I've lived for nearly three years, I am reminded of the snow falls in Santa Fe. Sitting in my dorm room, watching as the snow fell and accumulated just outside, clinging to the grass and trees. Icicles forming on the cars that filled the parking lots. As people began to wake, the students would get all bundled up. They'd put on their scarfs, hats, gloves, and big puffy coats and run around chasing each other in the snow, making snow angels and having snow ball fights. It was a school for the arts, so this kind of weather could hardly go to waste for all the creatives in their break from school work. I remember taking the opportunity to film an Almost Still video for a class project with a fake rose with a tree behind and snow falling being the only movement. It's a project that has long since disappeared from my life but I remember how happy I was to see the snow.

Growing up in Texas, snow was and is rare, it may happen once or twice a year or not at all and it seems that a lot of people don't necessarily know what to do when it does show up. We don't have fancy salt trucks like our neighbors to the north, we have sand trucks, great for a little bit of traction but still dangerous when it's dark out and there is black ice to be concerned with. At the end of the day it just feels and looks like dirty snow piling up on the sides of the roads. Drivers still going the speed limit are either really cocky or truly know what they are doing.

Every time it snows the memories I have from previous years flood back to my mind. It seems I only remember these times when I am remind by the presence of snow itself. To me, there is something beautiful and sad and delicate, yet harsh and icy and angry. Just like any storm it can turn mean at any moment, one minute you can see everything around you, the next moment you can hardly see just a few feet ahead of you. I remember high school, living with another family at the time, rolling down hills, walking the trails and building snow men by the park and in the backyard. In my opinion, building snow men was and will forever remain the most classic and sought after activity when it snows. You don't need much, just snow and a little creativity. I remember all the dogs pouncing through the snow, excited at first and then ready to return to the warmth of the house when their paws got too cold. I remember the first time driving alone in the snow to Thanksgiving with family.

Then there was the Great Ice of 2013, at least that's what I called it. Trying to get to work was a nightmare. We kept getting stuck everywhere and I am thankful for the people who were more prepared than myself and helped us get unstuck. Driving on that ice quite literally felt like ice-skating but instead of blades on your feet, you're sitting in a car with the wheels as your skates, just gliding down the road at a few miles an hour. Then there was my first snow away from home, I was in my second apartment without my parents, living with roommates and watching my roommates cat. Klaus was still a baby at the point but with my dog Bell's experience of seeing at least 5 years of snow, I was able to capture his first snow experience. There is something about an animals first snow, similar to a child's that brings joy and happiness to my heart. The reaction is almost always the same, confusion and then a happy little wiggle and it brings a smile to my face.