Snow, Glorious Snow

Snow. Great big white flakes of it tumbling to the ground. Steadily. And for hours at a time. When you’re still in or recovering from a drought, there’s no more glorious sight for a gardener.

The Chicago area finally had its first major snowstorm of the year last Thursday with accumulations up to 9” in some places. Yes, we’ve had some rain in the past month but much of that has run off the still-frozen ground. This snow, when it melts, should help the garden get ready for that early spring predicted by the groundhog. 

I know the snow accumulations we got are nowhere near those dumped on the Northeast during a blizzard this weekend. I'm hoping, though, that the impact follows a pattern similar to ours.

First day: Horrendous.
 

 

Second day: The snow actually starts to look pretty. Then the kids get out and start having lots of fun. Snowmen pop up everywhere. A large city park where teenagers were running cross country a few months ago becomes a major sledding hill – packed with people of all sizes and shapes.

Temperatures warmed up today and melted much of the snow, lessening its beauty somewhat. But before it did, I went for a walk in a wooded area near my home as well as the city park mentioned above. I needed to get some photographs just in case it takes another two years to get such a storm.

Here's hoping the Northeast gets back to normal soon.

By Karen Geisler