A Black and White Wonderland Walk

Last Friday, as I stepped outside my home here in Louisiana, I felt like I had stepped into a Black and White Winter wonderland. My normal walk of 4 miles took longer than the usual hour and fifteen minutes because I stopped and took photos as I walked. I also had to walk slower than I do, so not to slip on the roads. It was worth it to be out and walk in this beautiful black and white canvas that God had painted. I was enjoying my morning walk in this undisturbed beauty so much that I forgot the date. It was February 12th.

I was thinking about the quietness, the loneliness of being the only person outdoors in my neighborhood except for maybe three passing cars. I was thinking about the smile on my granddaughters little face when she sees the snow today. I was thinking about the deer tracks I saw going across the pasture and the trees looking like they were made of ice sculptures. For the first time in my whole like , I wasn't thinking about the date being February 12th .
I was thinking about the snow falling , as it hit my eyelashes and coated my camera hanging on my shoulder. I was thinking about my husband checking gas wells in the oilfield, wondering about those ice and snow covered steps he had to climb and hoping I wouldn't get a call that he had fallen. I wasn't thinking about the date being February 12th.
 
I was thinking about the beauty of the  long dark road and the snowy landscape. I was thinking about how cold my hands were getting from taking my gloves off to capture warm memories of today's walk. I wasn't thinking about the date being February 12th.

I was thinking about our livestock as they were  being still and quite in our pastures. I was thinking how the snow was falling hard one moment and so lightly floating down in  the next blink. I was thinking how the snow  made me feel calm, happy, and peaceful. I wasn't thinking about the date being February 12th.
  
When I arrived back home , my grand daughter arrived shortly afterward and we played in the snow, laughing and running with excitement. I was thinking about the color pink being so bright against the crisp white and the angel face that I shared this moment with. I wasn't thinking about the date being February 12th.

I was thinking about the tracks in the snow were now little footprints that would soon melt away and the snow angel on the ground that looked more like a bird had fluttered her wings.  And even thou it would come to past  a couple of days now, and the snow is melted and gone as fast as it appeared and for the first time in my whole life , I wasn't thinking about the date being February 12th. But somehow, it feels like maybe that day was celebrated and remembered in the beauty of the Black and White wonderland walk, the quietness of the day, the laughter of a child, and a snow angel made in the snow.

“Happy Birthday Momma “

Zadie Thomas Harrigill b.Feb 12, 1929  d.Sep 06, 1998

 angel in the snow