There is a sound to snow; a scrunch underfoot that changes tone and pitch as the temperature rises and falls. Sometimes, one can actually feel the sound vibrating in one’s ears, especially while wandering beneath a polar vortex. Air is light as snowflakes drift and breath hangs mid-sentence, waiting for the conductor to change the tempo of the song.
Mid-afternoon, a mission in errands at hand, the garage door creaked open, and I scrunched my way along a shoveled path, opened the car door, turned on the “machine”, and slowly backed out at an angle to right my sight in a forward direction, which is when I sensed movement in the periphery of my vision.
Doe. A deer. A female deer, dancing in the sun. A female deer dances not in the sun if it is a mere 8°F – unless there is a dancing partner, and there was. I stopped the car, mid-turn, alerted Tom via cell phone, for such a performance must be shared, and there we were, slowly scrunching about, capturing an aria in this bleak midwinter, music in the snow. Do click on the photos.
How fortunate you were to have a ringside seat at this dance. Simply beautiful!
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Just happened to be pulling out of the garage at the right moment, Karen, and there they were. I’ve been in the habit of taking my camera with me, and was glad I did. Thank you.
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These pictures are awesome and I dislike how that word is overused but in this case it fits. Your timing was perfect as all the activities that led up to you being where you were came together to witness two majestic creatures. Do you often see them in daytime rather than dawn or dusk? So glad I got to see the dance!
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I know what you mean about awesome being overused, but, I just used it recently in spite of myself and I thank you for its usage here. I was fortunate to be pulling out of the garage and to have caught them at the right moment, or, should I say, in the right mood.
We actually see them most anytime of the night or day. With all this snow, I can see them moving about at night, like shadows, and with the leaves and vegetation and snow, we can spot them in the forest from our road. I’m the lady driving 5 mph, to the annoyance of the UPS drivers, but, it is surreal to see them huddled on the forest floor or wandering about through the trees during the day.
Then, there are the hoof prints in my flower beds . . .
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Look at that rack!!
I love to walk through the woods in snow. It is loud and peaceful at once.
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Isn’t it amazing? We could make out eight points, though suspect more. You would have been amazed to see his graceful movements when he turned and ran, Andra, with that huge crown in front of him.
“loud and peaceful at once” – yes! Perfect description.
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Dear Penny, thanks so much for valuing the sight of deer–doe and buck–and for taking and sharing these photographs (which I did click on!). Here where I live I never see deer and there is a stillness to them that awes me and then the sudden leap that quickens my heart.
As to the sound of snow, I was just thinking about that a week ago when I crossed the street to get to my mailbox and here the loud crunch that heralds a low temperature. Low. Low. Peace.
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Oh, Dee, I wish you could see them here right now as the leap, effortlessly, over hills of snow at least four feet high. It does just that to me, “quickens my heart”.
It is sometimes hard to describe the sound snow makes to those who haven’t experienced it, but, you describe it perfectly here. Snow’s sound is very different at varying temperatures, and it is often the sound your always sign off with, the sound of peace.
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Your photos are just beautiful. It is amazing that you, who are city bound,, see so many deer that are so close. I, who am in a very rural area, see deer often but seldom so near the house. I guess that is because of my dogs. Sigh….
I agree with you, snow does indeed make a sound and it is lovely. Different kinds of snow make different sounds coming down and being walked upon. I was thinking of the Sounds of Silence when I saw your title. Sometimes snow is silent and it muffles the other sounds.
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I’m often amazed at what we see here, Janet, as we have two major expressways at our back, not to mention railroads and the UPS campus so near to us, yet, we get to see these on a daily basis. I think we see them so often, in part, because the herd is so big and there isn’t enough vegetation for them to feed on. They have actually come right up to our living room window a few times, which were interesting encounters. I’ve always loved being the City Mouse to your Country Mouse.
Guess what? My original title was Sounds of Silence. I changed it thinking I might have used it before, and, I did, so, here it is Sound of Snow. The song, however, has been singing in my head ever since. Snow does muffle other sounds, doesn’t it? It is much quieter on your prairie than here, where we hear traffic, in spite of the snow, especially in the back. When we lived in Elmhurst, we were close to O’Hare, and the sound of airplanes through the snow filled sky was different. Wish it wasn’t so cold today as I’d love a walk in the woods. Stay warm.
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I love all the sounds in this post; in fact I read it with my ears, if you see what I mean! And then with my eyes, as the deer came to dance. How healthy they look, and how dignified is their presence.
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Oh, Juliet, this is so lovely to read this morning. I do see what you mean about reading “with my ears”. This buck was so regal and when he ran off, his rack held so high, it was simply majestic. Thank you.
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I love the words “polar vortex.” Also love your writing.
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Thank you. Coming from a writer such as yourself, I feel a humble gratitude.
Before this winter, I think most had not heard the term “polar vortex”. It is now rolling off of our tongues and keypads. You’ve certainly had your share of it there as well, with the challenges of keeping your goats and others warm.
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I read somewhere that the polar vortex was thought to be responsible for global cooling in the 1970’s. The more history you read the more you see that we really don’t know much. 🙂 My poor goats are restless staying indoors. I usually take them for a walk in the woods at least once a day but it’s really icy and on the way out of the barn.
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That’s interesting. We have a local weather forecaster here, Tom Skilling, who has used the term, but, I guess I haven’t paid much attention to it until now. I do, however, remember the winters of the late 1970’s, especially ’78/79. It wasn’t as cold as this winter, but, we never had a January thaw and did have a great deal of snow, which was piled six to eight feet high and people were shoveling snow off of the roofs of their houses so they wouldn’t cave in (some did).
I’m shivering just thinking about those poor goats – and you, needing to tend to them and the other animals.
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Oh how fabulous, Penny! I could feel the hush that would have come over you. I wonder at how quiet it must be–except for the scrunch of your shoes on the snow–I would think all other sounds would be under the insulation of the snow itself. Quiet! I have a whole idea of what it’s like, but I have never experienced it. You provide the closest thing to experience and I just love reading your posts! The deer are majestic!
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I hope that some day you will experience the hush of snow, Debra. It is hard to describe, but, there is such beauty in it. Of course, there is also the harshness of it and the danger, which was so tragically evident in the horrible crash in Indiana yesterday. White out conditions are very dangerous, and the one experienced yesterday that caused such a horrendous accident are very real dangers in the area.
It is very cold today and the deer seem to have hunkered down somewhere in the little forest. I’m hunkered down, too, here in my little den. Thank you, Debra.
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Oh perfect magic.
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Indeed!
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Gorgeous photos and a very poetic, and accurate, description of the sound of snow and bitter cold Penny!
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Thank you, Janet. Enjoy this slight warming trend – and the resuming of school for the kids.
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Such lovely photos, Penny, though I’m sorry to learn that your arctic winter weather is continuing so relentlessly. Here we are awash with endless rain, but it’s been relatively mild so far, thank goodness.
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Thank you, Perpetua. It is good that you are having a mild winter thus far as last year’s winter and snow where quite an ordeal, if memory serves me well.
This cold has been bone chilling and is breaking records for not only this area, but, across much of North American. Today, it was a bit warmer, schools reopened, and we could safely be out and about. More snow on the way. Sigh.
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