Two mornings in a row I have gotten up before the dawn to the sight of glistening, thick snow lying all about. I am formulating a theory that snow looks at its best under streetlights. This morning is amazing. Every tree about us is white as though frost after frost has made it so. Overnight ten centimetres of snow on our outside table has replaced what melted away during the course of yesterday when the sun shone for a brief period. None of this will mean much for northern hemisphere readers used to snow lying around for months on end. But this is the second major snowfall in Christchurch in less than a month (we can go for years without snow settling on the ground here) and the firstsettling snowfall in many other parts of northern New Zealand for decades (since 1939 for Auckland). Something happening to the global climate perchance?
Quite a good anti-riot measure is snow. People stay indoors (as we did for most of yesterday). Through overnight correspondence some good links have come through which are worth a look:
Andy Hawthorne speaking on the power of the gospel to transform lives.
Peter Ould with post-riot reflection here.
Happy reading and viewing - especially for Kiwis indoors!
Meantime I have absolutely no excuse not to mark some essays :)
5 comments:
The snowfall in Christchurch is very pretty. (I took a look at the snow on YouTube; there are several videos posted. Just google Christchurch snowfall 2011 to see them.) You might consider putting up Christmas lights, etc. and take some photos of the o’l homestead for Christmas cards! Now, Peter, think about the blizzard that we had here in Brooklyn last December 26-27. Talk about a White Christmas: a snowfall of about 23 inches (60 cm), with drifts up to five feet (1.52 m)!
Kurt Hill
Brooklyn, NY
That is snow, Kurt!
Some of our higher country areas will have had snow that deep.
Of course, last year’s Brooklyn snowfall was “typical” of those winter storms in upstate Chautauqua County, where I grew up. There about 200 inches (about 5 meters) of snowfall per season is not unusual. A White Christmas is the rule. It’s very picturesque, of course, with village commons decked out with Christmas trees, lights around the bandstands, country inns decked in Christmas greens, etc. (But, to be honest, I only miss it at Christmas; part of the reason I moved to Brooklyn was to get away from all that snow!)
Kurt Hill
Brooklyn, NY
I have lived and visited cities where winter snow is common. I wish I could live in such a city here in Mexico. Alas, they do not exist.
I love snow. Not lake effect, Buffalo, NY blizzard type of snow, but the often, but gentle type in Helena, MT or Seattle, WA.
Snow looks best, in my opinion, under a full moon. Under streetlights is a close second place, though.
Post a Comment