Friday, February 05, 2010

In Winter Shroud

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The snow has all but gone now, so I thought I'd better put this picture up to represent the unusually long spell of wintry weather we've had here.

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Many of the children in particular have never seen so much snow before, and not just for a brief spell, but for a prolonged period. There was more earlier, but most of it disappeared before we had this top-up.

Children have made snowmen and igloos in many gardens. They have had snowball fights on their way to, and especially coming from school, our Italian neighbour mum exchanging snowballs with her oldest son, both laughing and shouting, ducking and diving.

People have actually started wearing proper winter clothes, yes, even Brits! But many of them are still reluctant to treat their cars with winter respect. Some still pour hot water down their windscreens; others nip out midway through their morning routines to start the car engine and leave it running to do the snow and ice clearing job for them. They'll do anything to avoid clearing the ice and snow with scraper and brush. So it's not unusual to see people on their way to work in "igloos" with a little peep hole to look out through. Dangerous!

Otherwise I think this picture is one of tranquility. That soft white snow mutes all sounds and brightens up the landscape and it also creates natural harmony and beauty, even in our somewhat monotonous neighbourhood.

11 comments:

Expats Again said...

Brrr...we have the same in Munich. Beautiful, but sooo cold.

Veronica said...

Ah ... peace and quiet; even the trees are white. Lovely

Zuzana said...

I agree, it does represent tranquility beautifully. Snow truly does have that calming effect.
Here we have snow that is almost two months old now, it has been the coldest January on record. And no sign of our snow to be gone any time soon, in fact more is on the way.;)
xo
Zuzana

swenglishexpat said...

Expats Again - It's probably colder in general where you are. We are just by the Dutch border, so we get the milder winds from the west often, but not always!

Veronica - Yeah, it must have snowed sideways.

Protege - You must have sea ice as well by now. I have seen a video in Sydsvenskan of somebody racing on a snowmobile on the sea outside Höllviken!

Anonymous said...

I found your blog via Protege. I love this winter picture you have posted. I love to hear and discover different cultures. I'm sure you have some great stories to tell having experienced Sweden, England, and Germany. I would love to hear them. Have a great weekend. It continues to snow here in Indiana, USA. Hope you will visit my blog. :)
Take care, The Bach

swenglishexpat said...

Bachelor - Thanks for dropping in. Snow yeah, nothing compared with the amounts of snow you get in the U.S. at the moment, in particular Washington D.C. Enough for little children and animals to get lost in!

Anonymous said...

Expats,
Greetings from Indiana USA, Indiana's snow was very wet and heavy. It melted quickly off the roads which was a good thing. It looks like you are into photography from your profile pic. Looks like a good camera anyway.
Later, The Bach

Lynda said...

Lovely photo. I am missing the snow, but happy to be out and about more. I sure didn't enjoy cleaning off the car (as my blog reflected). Miss Eight managed to have 4 school sport sessions that involved her taking her sled to school... I thought that was cool

swenglishexpat said...

Lynda - Don't you sometimes wish there was a magic wand to point at the car?

LadyFi said...

A lovely lovely snow! What fun for everybody. Lots and lots of snow here in Sweden, of course! Thigh deep at least.

swenglishexpat said...

Ours had gone I thought, but more is coming down gently as we speak, and there will be more Wed and Thu according to the forecast. More shovelling!