Snowflake Bentley I am Not

How full of the creative genius
is the air in which these are generated!

I should hardly admire more
if real stars fell and lodged on my coat.

-Wilson “Snowflake” Bentley

Snowflakes were miracles of beauty.

It seemed a shame that this beauty should not be seen
and appreciated by others.

Every crystal was a masterpiece of design
and no one design was ever repeated.

When a snowflake melted,
that design was forever lost.

Just that much beauty was gone,
without leaving any record behind.

Perhaps they come to us not only
to reveal the wondrous beauty of the minute in Creation

but to teach us that all earthly beauty is transient
and must soon fade away.

But though the beauty of the snow is evanescent…
it fades but to come again.

Every day we are surrounded by miracles, by perfection, if we take time to see it.

It was just cold enough this morning that the snowflakes remained separate as they landed, just still enough that they did not scatter in the wind.

A magic time of about ten minutes, before the sun rose fully over the trees and raised the temperature a degree or two, and the flakes began to cling together, merge.

Snowflake Bentley I am not, I’m afraid. But these are some of the wayside sacraments I came across today.

I really love seeing, firsthand, how each flake is delicate and unique. It’s one thing to know it, to learn it in school; quite another to compare them as they melt in your hand.

I’ve been sick this week, I’ll spare you the details.
It feels good to be up and about.
Fresh air and sunshine- good for the constitution, good for the soul.