January 2009 revisited (scroll down to "FIRST SNOW / GREEN MOUNTAIN")
We had another 6 inches of snow last night to replace the snow that had completely melted when the temperature rose to 44 degrees a few days ago.
Along with fireworks, a cannon blast, and people shouting "Happy New Year," I heard the sound of what I first thought was a flock of Canada geese just after midnight on January 1. This morning when I woke up just around 4 a.m. and went out on my porch and listened, I began to wonder if what I was hearing was Trumpeter Swans.
Although I began walking in the snow on the path that leads to Whatcom Falls this morning, when I heard what I now know is a "trumpeting" sound rather than a "honking" sound, I backtracked and headed in the direction that would give me a clear view of where the sound was coming from. Sure enough, there was a flock of twenty Trumpeter swans. I stood and watched them for a long time. I've seen them in the sky in past years but never on the water where I could look more closely at them over a period of time.
Having no camera or cellphone with me, I went to YouTube upon arriving home and, to give you an idea of what I saw today, found the above video taken 90 miles south of here in Seattle in 2009.
Walking in the snow is a new joy for me now that I finally know how to dress warmly enough to be comfortable, now that I have had cataract surgery and don't need to wear glasses which would fog up from my breath, and now that rosacea flares caused by cold weather have ceased to be an issue for me.
It was today in 1993 that my only nephew was born. I remember the snowy landscape driving to Seattle in the afternoon, holding him while looking out the window at the full moon until nearly midnight once my sister was asleep in her hospital bed, and then the magical drive home with a full moon illuminating the snow.
Here's my nephew when he was still in high school. He's the lead vocal on the left. I hope to see him again someday.
