The Quiet of Snow

Winter is upon us in North Idaho. The last few days a light powder snow has been falling in the mountains and valleys, covering everything in a soft, clean white blanket. One of the things I enjoy most about winter is the "snow quiet", that calming acoustic effect snow has on all its surroundings. Everything seems frozen in the stillness of a deep, dreamless sleep.

Anyone who has lived in the snow-laden reaches of the world probably has special memories of newly fallen snow. I think my fondest remembrance is from Novokuybyshevsk, Russia, where I was stationed as a Mormon missionary in the fall and winter of 1998. My missionary companion and I were walking across a neighborhood on the edge of the older part of the city--the apartment blocks were in the style of early Communism, three stories high with something faintly resembling architectural character (unlike most Soviet construction from the 1950's on). We entered a parklike courtyard with snow falling thick about us, everything draped in the cold black of night. Something beautiful enveloped me, a warm feeling of home and connection with the natural world. It was so quiet, which was unusual in two years of beating the pavement of different Russian cities, constantly avoiding the harassment of careless drivers and the careening paths of tramvai's and buses. In that moment I was at peace. I heard no voice, saw no cars. The world was silence, and snow was its messenger.

Add comment November 26th, 2006