When we made up our Christmas cards this year we included a picture of our house in the Spring of the year, commenting that there was no snow this year. I should have said - not yet. On Christmas day, about 8:30 in the morning, the snow began to fall. Before it was over there was a blanket of snow on our deck nine inches deep. There was no wind with it. It fell straight down and stuck to every tree branch, large and small. What a beautiful sight!
Of course, that meant that no one was moving up or down our mountain. Snow plows don't get up this far. But that didn't matter. We just cozied up, did some reading, and enjoyed the quiet.
Here's some pictures:
This was the most snow since the "Blizzard of ‘93." Yet, it brought back memories of that experience when our deck had a 30 inch white blanket it, and we were marooned up here for eight days - without electricity or water, and only a wood stove for heat. Since then, we have acquired a generator for emergency power, a well for water supply, and several propane heaters. Also, the power company has become more efficient in limiting outages.
We did miss the annual Christmas service at Old Union Baptist Church in Young Harris. We eased down the mountain in four-wheel drive at 10:00am, but the church was deserted - not a car in sight. They had wisely canceled the service, so we eased back up the mountain. There was already a couple of inches of snow on the ground and it was getting difficult to see where the roadway was.
The temperature remained below freezing for three days, so the snow remained dry. When the wind picked up on Monday (Christmas was on Saturday), the snow that had gathered on the tree limbs blew off and showered down in clouds of fine particles. Then, the sun came out and the white snow glistened like a million little diamonds. Squirrels, rabbits, and deer left their footprints in the snow, but otherwise it remained pure and smooth and beautiful to the eye.
It will be a Christmas long remembered.
WHITE CHRISTMAS - 2010
