gazing on the new soft-fallen mask/of snow upon the mountains and the moors

This year, winter in Washington has left me throughly underwhelmed. Usually, the Seattle area gets at least a sprinkling of snow, but this year it seems we've been bypassed completely. The weather has alternated between being so bitterly cold that any sort of precipitation is an impossibility, and the old standby: Pewter skies, temperatures in the mid-forties, and the constant need for an umbrella. I love Seattle, truly, I do - but for me, no winter is complete without snow. It's my favorite thing; I love the way it makes the world seem clean and new and soft. I love its smell and its texture. I'm leaving for Montana this week to go skiing, and I honestly could not be more excited. Finally, I get to leave this pitiful excuse for a season behind and break out my twin-tips!

You may scoff, but I am intensely jealous of the inhabitants of the Northeast right now. I would take a 3-day blizzard over this constant see-through drizzle any day. Until we leave for the mountains on Monday, I'll only be dreaming of one thing...

(Isn't this magical? It reminds me of Swan Lake.)