Beauty and the Blizzard of '17

The wind blows the falling snow almost horizontally.  

Hunker down in one's hopefully heated home?  Better, I think, to get out into it and enjoy the stark beauty.

For those who cannot appreciate the magnificence brought by the blowing snow, scroll down to see the indisputable splendor of others well adapted to the situation.

I love to ski in gentle breezes.
Don't you?

A frozen moment of a view toward the trees through driven flakes.

Drift ridges begin to form.

The cumulative effect of the flakes obscures the distant trees
like a frigid fog.

Like underwater sand, the snow is shaped into ridges.

But why in one place and not another?

What unseen flow caused this pattern?

The shelter of a large tree makes appreciation much easier
as the wind whistles past.

The wind is too strong for the trees to catch much snow.

"There is no bad weather," a man once told me.
"There is only bad clothing."
That he was a salesman does not make it any less true.
Yes, I should have worn my ski goggles.

Debris is still visible from the near hurricane-strength windstorm
we experienced last week.
I'm glad I'm not one of those still without power.
Life is never boring.

More ridges.

More snow.
Visually peaceful, even with the high energy wind.

I met some friends on the course.

They didn't stay long.

My tracks will soon be covered.
Unfortunate for all those who follow them.

A few places blown clean.

More ridges!
Yes, I am easily fascinated.

More drift patterns,
easily explained by the position of tree trunks.

The steady wind and its effects defy
describing this as a "Still Life."

As expected, my tracks have disappeared
wherever they were exposed to the wind.

Here are some others, also undeterred by the the wind.

"Blizzard?  What blizzard?"

"I've looked every which way and don't see any blizzard."

"A few flurries, maybe."

"There are more interesting things to think about
than the weather."

"Right down here."

"Huh?"

"Were you talking to me?"

"What were you saying?"

"Oh, now I get it."

"Scrumptious, don't you think?"

"Definitely."

"Not a bad restaurant.
We should come here more often."

"Yes, Dear."