As I’m sure many of you have experienced. The weather this spring has been wildly unpredictable and such was the case during my entire week in North Carolina. One night we had hail, another day it was overcast, but temperatures were mild, then the next day it was snowing. While it snowed for hours, nothing was sticking on our side of the mountain, so we went over to Cherokee to see what conditions were like there.
I don’t know if I will ever get used to the difference a few feet in elevation can make. As we climbed the mountain, we started to see patches where snow was gathering and at the top there was a good inch or so covering the land. Snowplows were stationed in several strategic locations along the way, but the roads were still warm enough to keep the snow from collecting there.
For me, snow is still a novel thing so I am delighted anytime I see it. I was hoping to see some elk in the snow, but they were all hiding. I had to settle for the sheer beauty of trees covered in the fresh dusting. The ranger station and old farmstead at Oconaluftee is one of my favorite places to visit and just wander around. With the snow still coming down I had it all to myself. (Well, my mom walked out with me to take some pictures.)
I could almost smell the scent of a fire warming the homestead and picture myself curling up with a well-loved quilt to watch the snow outside the window. I have to tell you, I felt like I was in a magical wonderland and couldn’t stop taking pictures. When a cardinal landed on a wood fence rail, right next to a blazing forsythia bush with tiny piles of snow on its yellow leaves, I knew I had to capture that moment.
Amazingly, the cardinal seemed to want his picture taken and he remained still for a couple of minutes as I inched ever closer. When we returned to the car, I remembered it was on this date more than ten years ago that my grandmother passed away. I felt a little closer to her at that moment and wondered if God may have sent that cardinal to bless me.
I’m seeing more blessings in the little things in life. This encounter with the cardinal, the beauty of my fresh cut flowers, a safe journey through the snow, a warm place to relax with my family. Every day I find things to be thankful for. In some ways I feel like my spirit is experiencing its own spring, awakening from a period of dormancy. I look forward to seeing what will blossom in this new season.