There is beauty in a woods after a snow, when the branches are draped in white. The snow absorbs sound most effectively, so that the soft crush of snowshoes disappears as if into a void. The smallest audio gestures are lost immediately and the louder have no echo. I keep the dog close knowing she will not hear me should she stray too far.
It is said the Inuit have many words for snow, each one differentiating frozen particles of bi-hydrogen oxide based upon its type and quality. In Vermont we simply add adjectives to snow – wet, dry, fluffy, etc. Sugar snow stands alone as a distinct phenomenon. It takes its name because it typically occurs during sugaring season – the cold nights and warm days that makes the maple sap run in the spring.
Sugar snow comes down thick and fast, when the temperature is near freezing, hauling down in large flakes that saturate the air. It is high in moisture, so that it sticks to everything it lands upon. The result is a winter wonderland with everything covered in in a white mantle.
Last night came a sugar snow and the morning walk up the hill was through a quiet beauty. A light breeze came up, causing occasional clumps to fall through the branches creating small cascades. Sugar snow breathes the beauty of winter and the promise of spring in the same breath. It deserves to have its own name.
Gizzo Bike Works 