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| #16 Kanbara by Japanese artist Utagawa Hiroshige. |
In Japanese folklore there is a beautiful woman known as the Yuki-onna also known by many other names but I happen to like the one commonly used that calls her the "snow witch." She is a spirit that lives inside snowstorms and comes to travelers often in the night to trick and freeze them to death. She sometimes is said to have kissed them thus freezing them on the spot or to lure unsuspecting victims to her cave with the promise of shelter and food from the cold and snow. The poor souls end up starving and freezing to death in her snow cave.
Friday night Yuki-onna must have been hiding in my snowstorm that was coming but instead of freezing me to death she stole my snow and left me with an ice storm and bitter cold in her wake. The snow witch played her tricks and left us frozen in place in Atlanta Saturday morning encased in an icy web. I was expecting inches of fluffy snow to play around in and was tricked by the snow witch.
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| Moon Bridge in Meguro by Utagawa Hiroshige |
For days I had been getting up at 2AM analyzing the weather and getting excited about how a big storm was coming because I had not seen a big snowstorm in a few years. I was invested emotionally in getting a big storm and to enjoy that silence that settles in on the world when we get big snows here in Atlanta. The roads are free of cars, the world stops and the snow cover is a blanket of insulation that absorbs the sounds of civilization. I sacrificed sleep for what I thought might be a few days of fun.
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| Morning sun shining on the ice coated oak trees. Photo by me, January 2017. |
At 4 AM Saturday morning I stepped out the front door in my big gray winter wool coat that I bought fifteen years ago at J.Crew when they made things of high quality, my blue plaid scarf and black gloves. The world was silent and the only sounds were the dry and sparkling snow crystals falling from the sky and collecting on the already ice covered trees, shrubbery and ground. In the street lights I stared at that mesmerizing sight of peace and silence filling the air knowing this wasn't going to be a big snowstorm. I was accepting of what little snow I was going to see and thankful that I had a chance to stand and watch it with no one else around. My little peaceful few moments standing there covered in crystallized enjoyment the snow witch took mercy on me I suppose and flew away with the wind on her way in search of other victims.
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| Photo by me, January 2017. |
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| Photo by me, January 2017. |
Ice storms have their own beauty. It is a dangerous beauty that you fear and that beauty is tempting like that of the snow witch. The glazed over trees that are bowing to the world, the shiny sidewalks, the frozen raindrops are like someone has placed icing on a cake. You want to admire this glistening jewel before you and it is so tempting. This beauty brings down trees, takes out the power lines and leaves you in the cold and dark like the snow witch's cave.
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| Photo by me, January 2017. |
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| Photo by me, January 2017. |
There's the awful crack of the ice storm. If you've been through an ice storm, especially a bad one, you know that undeniable sound of the cracking of the ice over your head. That crack of the ice on the trees brings you nightmares because you know that could mean a limb or an entire tree is aiming for you or your electricity. Every wind gust has you looking to see how the bent over trees are struggling under the weight of the ice. Ice storms are humbling.
This morning it was 15F or -9C degrees. The oatmeal and boiled egg that I eat every morning seemed extra relevant as the windows fogged over with steam from the humidifier. This cold is the kind that hurts the face and ears after getting exposed to it for more than a minute. and your breath becomes an extra long cloud of steam as it evaporates into the sun and wind.
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| Photo by me, January 2017. |
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| Photo by me, January 2017. |
The ice is still falling from the trees and cracking to the ground today. The snow is curled up in the leaves in the shade and I'm reminded of my coldest experiences in winter in places like New York and Toronto or living in Louisville. Years ago in Hell's Kitchen I was so cold I couldn't speak, just walking a few blocks and my mouth wouldn't work. It is that cold here in Atlanta today and yesterday. It stayed in the 20s all yesterday afternoon and it never climbed above freezing (32F, 0C).
Even if I didn't get my big snowstorm yet this winter I did get those few moments alone in the snow at 4AM as a reward without the snow witch taking me.
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