Someone Wished Too Hard for a White Christmas . . .

 So, is the magnitude of our little white Christmas in northern Utah due to a single person wishing too strongly? Or a conglomerate amount of wishers getting carried away?

I, for one, didn't join in the wishing this year.  Last year was magical enough.  In 2014 we didn't get our first "stick on the ground" snowfall until Christmas Day, and it was beautiful.  This year, as predicted by farmers almanac, we're having a wetter, colder season, and with that more snow.  We've been "hit hard" a couple times already, though after last Friday I'm redefining "hit hard," though if I lived in Alaska or Canada or Norway or Greenland I would probably scoff at our latest snowfall as mere flurries.

Still, when I heard on the news we would be getting snow on Christmas the child in me got excited.  When my Dad looked at weather predictions on his phone during our Christmas Eve feast, announcing we would be getting about six inches, the adult in me who hates driving in snow got nervous.

We didn't get six inches.  I think we got about a foot of snow.  Sundance Ski Resort got around 19 inches.  Merry Christmas to all those people who skid uncontrollably to the side of the road.  Thankfully I remained safely home-bound on Friday.  White Christmas's are romantic and all, but they're not without their perils.

 The snow wouldn't stop falling Christmas Eve through Christmas Day.

The above photograph was taken just past midnight.  It was so bright outside I didn't need a flash to take the picture, simply letting in natural light.

 And this picture was taken around 2:15 am.  I didn't want to sleep.  Presents were wrapped the night before, so that wasn't keeping me up, I just wanted to look outside.  The World looked so peaceful and calm.  "All is calm: All is bright."  Watching snow fall is really quite hypnotizing.

 Really beautiful.

(As a note, I don't know why it's so bright when it snows.  I assume it's light pollution bouncing off snowflakes, illuminating everything.  It's a phenomenon I haven't gotten use to.  My brain freaks out at 2 am when there's so much outside light flooding into my room that I mentally think it's 7 am.)

 So. Much. Snow! 0_0

The nice thing about living where it snows is that the great outdoors become an icebox.  I put our party drinks on the snow to chill, saving room in the fridge.  Though, heh, I waited too long to get these Sprites.  They had completely sunk down, and I wasn't thinking and fished them out with my bare hands.  So cold!  I just left them on the pavement, not wanting to brush off the snow.

365 Day Photo challenge: Days 20 - 22. Remembering the Great Porterville Snow Fall of 1999

(Day 20 of the 365 day photo challenge) 

Starting January 22, 2012 we had a series of snow storms come through, which was actually a pleasant surprise.  I grew up in central California where all the orange trees grow, so just going below freezing was enough to freak the community out.  I heard that's how Porterville earned the "All American City" award, because one winter, when the trees were in danger of being destroyed by the cold, everyone got together to save them by pumping warm water and what not, and the crops were saved.  Nothing beats getting an orange straight from the tree.

 

(Day 21 of the 365 day photo challenge) 

I would fantasize how amazing it would be to have a snow day and for school to be canceled.  Every once in a while we would get snow flurries, but they would melt before hitting the ground.  Then January 25, 1999 something freaky happened.  Growing up LDS outside of Utah, I attended 6:30 a.m. seminary, but around 5:30 in the morning I got a call from my teacher saying class was canceled because it was snowing.  Snowing!?  Yeah, right, and I think I even laughed, because my teacher told me to look outside.  I did, swinging the door open, and gasping.  It was still dark, but there was at least half a foot of snow on the ground, and giant white snow flakes falling to the ground in glorious puffs. 

 

(Day 22 of the 365 day photo challenge) 

School was canceled, and I spent the day with my brother and friend Jeff, a neighbor, playing in snow fights and walking to other streets.  Everyone was out that day.  The whole city seemed to be at a stand still.  Here in Utah if there was snow like that, we wouldn't give it another thought, business would resume as normal.  But in California with braking tree branches taking out power lines and cars skidding everywhere causing accidents, most people seemed to stay home.  

It was such a novelty that the Weather Channel did a segment on it, featuring footage of the snow in Visalia.  

It's sad, reflecting, because I've forgotten that magic.  When it snows the first thing I think of is hoping the plow trucks are out and that the snow needs to be shoveled.  I hate driving in it.  These last few winters have been nasty and very wet.  But this year there hasn't really been much snow at all.  And so when we finally got a little, I couldn't help but be reminded how beautiful it is.

Have a great week!

Sarah