The osprey come back in the first 8 or so days of April. I love seeing them arrive and start fussing with their hodgepodge of a log home. The couple always arrives one or two days apart.
No snow lasts for long. Even blizzards in April melt quickly even when they are deep. A good snow in April even helps the mountainous snowbanks in the shopping malls melt more quickly.
The snowbanks now are coated in black, gray and brown dirt scooped up and plunged into the snow as the snowplow shoves it to the side of the parking lots. They look like scoops of ice cream with sprinkles. Or chocolate chip ice cream...or maybe vanilla ice cream with chocolate cookie crumbs in it. Kind of.
These snowbanks don't melt well in the sun for some reason. You would think they would, for as they melt the dark dirt gets more concentrated on the surface of the snow, and dark draws the sun's heat. But it doesn't seem to. Those snowbanks last and last and last.
You can almost count the storms by reading their layers...
Snow Banking
I need to make a deposit
said the snowplow in the street
and promptly scooped the snow up
and dumped it at my feet.
By Donna JT Smith
This scene happens in Tennessee only once every 5-10 years. I wish we had more snow but I am not wishing for these snowbanks. Happy they are on their way out for you this time of year. Eventually...
ReplyDeleteMy daughter went to college in Nashville, and on the one day it snowed, she showed the how to use the cafeteria trays as sleds!
DeleteYes, come on, April - we beckon you in! Loved the snow bank connections! Thanks for sharing this slice.
ReplyDeleteIt is on its way! I'm hearing more and more birds every day! Winter is such a quiet sky here.
DeleteI've seen those snow banks stick around through half of June. I need to picture them as ice cream with sprinkles so I can appreciate them more.
ReplyDeleteThey take forever to disappear and they are sooo dirty...literally! Ha! I typed litter...as in litterally...that applies, too!
DeleteA post about snowbanks! I love it! What a way to see something lovely in what most people deliberately ignore! And the poem is terrific! Thanks for sharing!
ReplyDeleteCute, Donna! Love that original point-of-view :-)
ReplyDelete