Beauties of Snow

     We know snow can be dangerous and generally annoying.  But it has several beauties, too.  And it enhances the beauties of woods, suburbs and fields in the Middle Atlantic States, as elsewhere.
     The sky is uniformly gray before and during a snowfall.  Falling snow is silent, and pretty, especially when dropping before needled conifers and bare deciduous trees that create dark backgrounds.  The flakes are innumerable and no two are exactly alike.  And they pile on top of each other, inch by inch.
     Snow on the ground changes the look of a landscape, making it appear more wild and desolate.  Roads and trails disappear, for a while. 
     Blankets of snow on the ground provide protection for small creatures against predation and insulation for plants and invertebrates against air temperatures colder than the snow.  Field mice dig tunnels through the snow at short-grass level.  There they feed, make grass nests and move about without being seen by predators.  But when the snow melts, there are the tunnels visible to scrutiny.
     Wet snow sticks to every bare twig and needled bough, outlining the lovely shapes of each and every one of them, and accentuating the beauties of the trees.  Every twig and needled limb is an artistic study of white on dark, especially at dusk. 
     Some evergreen branches are pushed down by the weight of the snow on them, providing wind breaks for birds, squirrels and other mammals nestled in those trees.  But the wind blows some of the snow off the trees in great, powdery showers that you wouldn't want to be caught under.
     Wind pushes dry snow off some places in the fields and piles it in others.  Horned larks, sparrows, ducks, geese, doves and other kinds of field birds eat seeds and grain from the soil swept free of snow by the wind.
     Dry snow drifts easily in vast sheets before the wind across fields, creating drifts and sculptures of heaped snow that constantly change shape.  And during a brilliant sunset, drifting snow on fields is pink and looks like smoke blowing across the open landscape, as if the whole farmland was on fire. 
     Outdoor lights bouncing off falling snow, fallen snow and the cloud cover at night brightens the landscape almost like day.  Trees and shrubbery are silhouetted against the clouds and ground cover, and deer and rabbits are charcoal etchings before the fallen snow. 
     Snow on gray twigs, red berries, green needles and other objects melts and refreezes as a result of fluctuating temperatures.  Melting snow drips, but those drops become frozen on each other as the temperature falls, creating beautiful, transparent icicles in great numbers everywhere. 
     Fog is caused by warm air circulating over snow on the ground.  The fog and ground cover of snow block the horizon and obliterate details of the landscape, making it austere, and charming in its own cold, wild way.
     Another intrigue of snow on the ground is the signs that wild animals leave behind of their travels and adventures in the snow.  Readily seen tracks are those of deer, rabbits, squirrels, opossums, foxes, crows, ducks and a variety of small birds.  One can read the signs of tracks to know what kinds of wildlife were in an area, where they went and what they might have been doing.  Sometimes bits of blood, fur or feathers on the snow tell of an ambush on the snow.   
     Enjoy the many beauties of snow before it melts away.  It is perishable, often fleeting, and not here every day.