Oh Baby, Baby, It's a White World

It seems that winter has finally arrived! After a couple weeks of unseasonably warm weather (highs in the 40's and we even got to 50 one day), the snow and cold have returned. I was beginning to be a bit disappointed with winter. Where were the crazy piles of snow everyone was talking about? The horrible cold? The winter fun of snow shoeing and cross country skiing?

Well, for the past few days I got my wish: snow and snow and cold.

I've enjoyed experiencing the different types of snow. There's fluffy and light:

There's dry and glittery:

And many other kinds as well. When the sun shines on it, the snow melts a little but quickly refreezes because it's so cold. It still looks like snow but crunches differently under your feet since it's become ice.

Walking on snow is fun and a different sensation from any other I've experienced. I thought it would be similar to walking on sand, and maybe it is when you walk through deep snow, but otherwise it squeaks and compresses under your weight. If you've ever squeezed a handful of corn starch, that's the sound and sensation of snow beneath your feet.

Coming and Going

We've also learned a new weather term: squalls.

www.wunderground.com

Squalls are big snow drifts that form when the snow is combined with wind gusts. It was very cool to see the snow blowing across our driveway when the winds came. Unfortunately, it was dark and the photos didn't come out. Maybe next time.

We've been out for walks in the park where the standing water has frozen.

Jake on frozen water.

Snow patterns on the ice.

The puddles are also frozen and it's fun to step on them and feel the ice crack under your shoes.

Bubbles trapped beneath the ice.

I think the snow is absolutely beautiful, mostly because everything becomes coated in an even, sparkly, white coat. For the past few snows it's been cold enough for the flakes to stick to the cement, which really illustrates the snow's pervading presence. I tried to capture this feeling in pictures, but I think it's something you have to experience to fully appreciate.

I also took a bunch of snow pictures around town.

There are many small ponds around the malls and they were also all frozen.

We've driven some in the snow. It's been mostly fine, but we're lucky that Ann Arbor is so good with the snow plows and salt; the major roads have always been clear when we go out. If you've never seen rock salt, here's what it looks like:

It works by reducing the freezing point of the water so that it melts instead of forming ice, as you can see by the melted circle surrounding the piece above.

I witnessed a big dumper truck salting our driveway—and caught it on video so you can see it too!

And, since I haven't posted video for a while, here's a second one showing some of the pretty snow fall.

Enjoy the winter!