A Perfect Moment
Posted: Tuesday, 04 March 2008 |
7 comments |
A friend sent me pictures of the snow they have where he is. Made me jealous..for I love snow, proper snow, and winter, and especially good old fashioned winters where the snow was some feet deep and of the igloo making kind, that is, not the soft mucky slush you find at the kerbside in cities.
But those are consigned to that foreign country called "The Past" and will probably not be seen again in my lifetime the way the climate is looking right now.
And I watched the news and saw the weather warnings..you know the kind..."Oh god it`s going to drop below zero tonight, eveyone panic now!" And "EEK! We`re gonna get a whole centimetre of snow today, it`ll be guaranteed to close roads/schools/council offices...."
And I looked out my window and saw fair enough, big fat snowclouds drifting by...well ok, not quite drifting..getting pushed firmly in the back by gale force winds would be more accurate....it`s as if the snow clouds were a package holiday of tourists and the guide thought Sanday was obviously beneath them....
Hee...ahem..sorry...couldn`t resist that one...*blushes*
So anyway, I was jealous of the snow everyone else had. It`s not fair. Other folks don`t want the stuff, and here`s me, one wee woman stuck on a rock in the North Sea and would a snowflake or two..or few million..be too much to ask?
But yesterday afternoon for a peedie moment, I went outside. You know that special kind of darkness you get, just before the flakes begin to gently drift down? Yes, that`s right, that kind....the horizon closes in, the sky and sea meet and marry to become a vast dark dove grey entity and there`s the most beautiful, quiet hush falls over the world, like it holds its breath waiting, just waiting.....
I believe I know the awe an eclipse in long past days must have inspired in superstitious country folks..because that darkness just makes me stand and stare with some simple kind of reverence. And it`s peaceful...
It forces quiet and stillness, it makes what worries you vanish for a peedie blink as you stand and just look at that vast sky above and around you that is ready to touch the earth with soft white kisses of snow....
There in front of me was my garden, the rose hedge now budding with little plump pale cocoons of birthing leaves, there in front of me was the field and the track stretching down to the Peedie Sea and looking out over the water to Stronsay, not really seeing it in the darkness of sea and sky.
I have a family of moorhens in the garden beside my ducks. Every bird ceased its pecking for food, it`s chattering and squabbling for space and oneupmanship, the wild birds had vanished and the whole calm scene was such a beautiful and strange thing.....and then the first flakes of snow drifted down, and THERE was my own perfect moment, watching the soft white against the deep slate and seeing my breath mist in the air and touch the snow.....
There was not a sound to be heard then. Not the sea which was glassy and mirrorlike, reflecting the darkness peppered with white. Not the wind which had stood still for a space out of respect for an old friend, an ageing winter. Not beast nor bird nor person marred that perfect moment when out of the darkness snow fell in lazy, dancing spirals to melt upon the soil.
It was as special, as beautiful, as the first moment spent with a lover in that first, breathless kiss...
And you may think I`m mad for rapturing over a tiny spattering of snow under a darkened, cold sky.
But that moment, like every other, will never come again.
And for me, it was perfect.
This morning, there`s only the barest dusting of snow on the brittle, hard ground. The winds are back and the birds are still squabbling, and the sea has an army of white horses upon her back.
The weather reporters on tv might enthuse about the milder weather and grin about the sunshine.
I`ll settle for diversity in it, with the odd perfect moment where the island holds her breath then releases it in tiny white kisses, thanks.
Posted on Hermit Life at 08:23
Comments
HL, a moment frozen in time for us, thanks. Here we have for the first time in weeks a couple of days of just-sub-zero temperatures and a dusting of snow. COmbined just now with brilliant March sunshine and a gentle breeze. But not for long! Next gale is forecast for this evening.
Barney from Swithiod just a dusting
I've had one or two of those moments in my lifetime, Hermit, and they are equally lovely and heartachingly sad, becasue they are so beautiful and can never either be conveyed properly or recaptured. You did the best job I've seen of describing one, thanks so much.
GerCelt from Dublin, Ireland
We had similar snow yesterday Hermit ... I was up fairly early to feed the ducks, and do you know what was fairly difficult ...? To just make that first step, knowing I would leave my tracks down around the garden, spoiling the wonderful pristine-ness of it all ...
soaplady from lovely sunny day today ...!
What wonderful writing! A treat.
Hope Later from not there yet
It's like the powers that be giving you a moment, just for you, all to yourself. They do be heartachingly lovely. So well painted, thank you Hermit :)
Salty from Dublin
HL - I love reading your blogs; they're like sticky toffee pudding, or a really good single malt - or chocolate, lots of chocolate...... Sheer poetry!!
Rachondarox from Lancs
i came across your articles by accident but i really have enjoyed them takes me back to when i was a child living in the wilds of n ireland.
I am scottish by birth and miss everthing about the highlands
maureen from hitchin herts
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