The Hush of First Snow

Right around midnight, the first flurry of snow has arrived. The wintry season slips in surreptitiously, pulling the temperature down to freezing point. Everything grows still -- The world outside muffled in a hush of white.

I think of the animals outside - the deer, rabbits, chipmunks, squirrels, raccoons, skunks foxes -- bracing another long, cold stretch. But they always return, resilient, finding life even in the frozen earth.

Inside, we draw the blankets close, letting warmth wrap around us as sleep deepens with the night. Beyond the windows, the snow keeps falling -- and the world keeps turning softer, whiter, quieter.