Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening

[altivo]

Pausing in the woods
Originally uploaded by Altivo

Whose woods these are I think I know.
His house is in the village though;
He will not see me stopping here
To watch his woods fill up with snow.

My little horse must think it queer
To stop without a farmhouse near
Between the woods and frozen lake
The darkest evening of the year.

He gives his harness bells a shake
To ask if there is some mistake.
The only other sound's the sweep
Of easy wind and downy flake.

The woods are lovely, dark and deep.
But I have promises to keep,
And miles to go before I sleep,
And miles to go before I sleep.

—Robert Frost, 1922

"No work today" rings not true. Yes, the library was closed due to the weather, but let me tell you, shoveling the snow and doing animal care in six to eight inches of it is heavy work. Still, it's beautiful stuff, and how people can profess to "hate" it so is beyond my conception.

(More photos available on Flickr. Click thumbnail to get there.)

Comments

[kingodin.livejournal.com]

Forests are definitely pretty when covered in snow. Reminds me of the setting of my own stories...

[altivo.livejournal.com]

These scenes today reminded me of Walt Disney's Peter and the Wolf rendition.

[songdogmi.livejournal.com]

All very cool photos. They remind me of why I like winter as much as I do.

[altivo.livejournal.com]

Winter is part of the cycle. I find it has no more and no less to like about it than any of the other three seasons. Having grown up here in the midwest where we have four distinct seasons, I'm quite sure I'd be unhappy anywhere that lacked those changes.

[keeganfox.livejournal.com]

I don't hate snow. I hate having to shovel it anywhere. And being cold and wet from the shoveling said snow. It's unfair, but snow takes the blame.
But Robert Frost is for the win!

[altivo.livejournal.com]

The good thing about cold and wet is when it's over and you go in where it's warm and have tea or cocoa or something and get all warm and relaxed again. ;D

Yes, Robert Frost is one of my most favorite poets. Thomas Hardy, A. E. Housman, and Emily Dickinson hold similar rank with him.

[rustitobuck.livejournal.com]

Agreed, warmup is for the win.

[kint.livejournal.com]

I think my only objection is how bad the roads can be at times. And since that's generally just an inconvenience... bring it on!

[altivo.livejournal.com]

Yep. And the winter chill is why we can grow such excellent apples and spring bulbs here. ;D Apples are particular about being chilled in the winter, and most varieties produce little or nothing without it.

[innerwolf.livejournal.com]

Snow in any setting that doesn't require me to remove it is beautiful.....Other than that its just that winter seems to last 6 months here..I would prefer 3 months.

[altivo.livejournal.com]

It's really only four months here. ;p

[ducktapeddonkey.livejournal.com]

*grin*

Funny...I just read that poem the other day.

You folk got a lot more snow than we did. It poured rain all day here today and melted everything we woke up to. Doesn't look nearly as pretty.

[altivo.livejournal.com]

There was a lot more snow just 30 or 40 miles west of here, I think. We were near the border between the rain and snow.

It has continued to snow lightly all day today, but only to the tune of about 3/4 of an inch. Now they say we could get another inch overnight, but the temperatures are falling rapidly and in my experience we rarely get much snow here if the temperature is below 20F.

That poem was reportedly Frost's own favorite among all his own work. Most folks make faces when they hear it because they had to read it in school and somehow schools seem to instill a deep hatred of poetry in students.

[vakkotaur.livejournal.com]

Being forced or coerced into something generates antipathy for whatever that something is. Having has to read Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn I developed quite an aversion to Twain. It wasn't until I saw a version of The Mysterious Stranger on PBS that went back and read a significant chunk of his work.

I've found that if I happen across something or have it quietly recommended, there is at least a chance of my enjoying it. "You gotta..." tends to lead to an instant dislike. I cannot recall a single thing I was coerced or forced into that I wound up liking in any form. This is why, I think, that as well-meaning as Phys. Ed. courses are, they are severely detrimental to their own alleged purpose.

Asimov suggested an interesting form of education: Only teach was the student was interested in. It sounds insane, but he had the example of a kid interested only in baseball. Fine, teach him baseball... and then arithmetic for batting averages and on to statistics and such perhaps. And reading, to read about it. And let it happen. It makes sense. I do not expect this happen, therefore.

[altivo.livejournal.com]

The problem with that approach to education is that it requires one highly qualified and patient teacher for each student. No question but what it can work well, but it's so costly that only the most wealthy could afford it.

[vakkotaur.livejournal.com]

But a hybrid can work, and has been proven to. But having involved parents that actually do some things to encourage education and make available information seems to be increasingly rare, with depressingly predictable result.

[mondhasen.livejournal.com]

I usually shovel after dark, late night or early morning, due to my schedules. It's so peaceful, with only the occasional plow going by to disturb that sleepy hiss of the snow through the trees and shrubs (although sometimes I'll don the mp3 player and listen to a book to make the time go faster).

Pretty pictures.

[altivo.livejournal.com]

My dad used to shovel after dark. I've only done that when it was urgently needed. Like a chicken, when the sun goes down I'm usually out for the count which does reduce my productive time in December and January.

[rustitobuck.livejournal.com]

Thank you for the poetry and the pretty pictures. Ah, woods in winter. I'm still in the office, taking a break before I go home.

I think what I really like in winter is a little freedom to bend my life around the weather and let Nature take Her course. And really, I have a lot of that.

[altivo.livejournal.com]

Yes, it's certainly not so easy when you're stuck with a job or other responsibilities that refuse to flex a little. US culture is notoriously bad in that respect, I think.

[merik.livejournal.com]

Nice pictures! Other than having to drive in it, I really don't mind snow. Finally got the first real snow of the season here overnight last night (3-4 inches of wet, heavy snow in my neck of the woods), but it was above freezing by mid-morning and it rained here for an hour or so tonight, so only small, thin patches of snow remain on the grass. Which is a bit of a shame, actually...

[altivo.livejournal.com]

I don't even mind the driving itself, when necessary. It's the other idiots who refuse to slow down and be sensible that are the problem.

We're down to 2.7°F at the moment. Now that I mind. The wind chills today are going to be brutal and dangerous.

[merik.livejournal.com]

*nods* It's the idiots out driving that make me want to avoid driving in the snow if at all possible. Not only those maniacs in SUVs and pickup trucks who seem to think that their choice of vehicle makes them invincible, but also all the college students, especially graduate students from warmer countries, who not only have never driven in snow before, but who have never seen snow in real life before :-P

Wind chills are evil, and those I mind, too. Hope things didn't get too bad there today.

[altivo.livejournal.com]

Well, it wasn't too bad for me, I was indoors much of the day except while feeding critters at sunset. My mate did barn chores for me, since he was home rather than in Chicago as usual for a Thursday. He had to feel the pain, including rediscovering the joy of "snotsicles" as he so picturesquely put it. I treated him to lunch at one of our favorite places to help ease the pain. ;D

[equusmaximus.livejournal.com]

I don't mind the snow itself so much; As you say, it's beautiful, and the serenity of the scenery is breathtaking. That said, -50°C temperatures (lower with the windchill) and snowdrifts more than a metre deep are not fun! Trying to clear a 200' long, 20' wide gravel driveway with a 27" snow-blower isn't fun either. That was last Winter. So far, it's been milder this year, but temperatures have still been into the -30's (before the windchill) and there is more snow expected.

At least this year I have a tractor to help move the snow around, if it will start in the cold!

[altivo.livejournal.com]

We have the same driveway issue and had to do it by hand yesterday because it was too wet and heavy for the snowblower. I wish I could afford a decent small tractor, but it's really out of the question.

Your temperatures would be extremely hard for me to handle. The brief spells (two or three days) that we get like that are the worst times of the winter for me. Snow is no problem by comparison.

[cabcat.livejournal.com]

And his name was Robert Frost XD

I like snow and think it beautiful....till I have to go out in it XD it's too cold for this kitty.

[altivo.livejournal.com]

Normally we get the heaviest snow when temperatures are just below freezing. That's not so terribly cold.

The severe cold comes in the periods after the snow has ended, when we often get high winds from the northwest, right out of Canada.