Watching the Snow Arrive in Late December

The last two weeks of 2016 started out quiet. There were some clear, cold days around the lake, with the water calm under a deep blue sky. Snow was on the distant mountains but hadn't really settled on the ground yet. I just spent time down by the shore, taking in the low winter sun.

Then the storm rolled in. I woke up one morning to a landscape covered in a thick blanket of snow. The view from our deck was completely transformed. For a couple of days, it was all about watching the snow pile up on the railings and trees. The sunsets were muted, just a soft glow behind the clouds.

Once the storm passed, a real stillness set in. One morning was particularly foggy, with a thick mist hanging low over the water. I walked down to the dock and saw someone had built a tiny snowman on a post. The evenings that followed, however, were something else entirely—the sky lit up in incredible pink and orange hues against the white landscape.

The year ended with an intense, quiet cold. Everything felt frozen in place. On one of those last days, the trees and sky reflected perfectly on the water's surface, which looked almost unnaturally blue in the winter light. Just a regular couple of weeks at home, watching the season change.