February 5

Another snow dusting happened overnight which put a fresh blanket of at most ¼ inch on the ground. And, just like a couple of days ago, the snow was nearly weightless and fluffy – the kind in which you could simply blow gently on it to move it about.

This snow is water poor, meaning that the frozen crystals of water are large, where pockets of air can easily reside within. It is a snow made for shuffling through, where no moisture seems to accumulate on your pants or shoes. It is not a snow for packing or shaping, for the fun of snowmen or snowballs. This is the snow we often see in the artificial globes, turned over and again to make the white particles swirl and dance as if carried effortlessly on an imaginary eddy.

More often than not, here in Paxton we receive the dense, water-laden snows borne by nor’easters that collect humid air from the south before falling from the sky upon us. This is the heavy snow of winter and while enjoyable to shape and pack, it is nevertheless a burden to the shovel and to our roofs.

Light snows are ephemeral things, dancing in the wind and alighting on the ground. They vanish quickly with a moderate sunlight. I like these snow globe storms that come and go.