SNOW!!!!

[Starlock]

So... because I happen to just LOVE snow, here's a place to talk about it! Snow contains many great mysteries on the Path of one who follows a Nature-centered religion. What insights have you gathered from watching snow and ice in Winter?  

[loahnuh]

I learned how to block out the feeling of cold but i'm not sure that's what you were hoping for. sweatdrop  

[Starlock]

Hey it relates.

We got a gigantic snowstorm on Winter Solstice... it was awesome. About a foot or so... more than we usually get. And yet people still clear their driveways and go out and about. Why can't humanity just *stop* for once. Stop and admire the scenery. Take Gaia's actions as a cue to take it easy for a while. Let the snow lay virgin upon the ground... or play in it. Nothing more comfy than ploping down into a big heap of snow!  

[loahnuh]

I agree with you, but most people are taught to capitolize on every minute and can't enjoy the time given to them for them. It would help so many to just learn to relax for a minute, the world can get by without them.  

[twilight insanity]

as the fae would seek to remind us in their many small ways, forget time, and it shall not exist. ^w^ the horrible and consuming concept that need not be in existance. i hate time, and love nature.

a question though... what is snow like? can you describe it to me please? i've always wanted to know. sad  

[Starlock]

Never seen snow, Twilight? I guess living with it all my life I forget that there are plenty of folks in the world who have never experienced it. sweatdrop

There are different kinds of snow, actually, because there are different kinds of snow crystals and the moisture level determines how it behaves a bit. The type of snow crystal most people think of by default are the hexagonal plates and stellar plates that can form beautiful dendritic branching patterns. So intricate and unique are these patterns that early scientists studying them believed each snowflake had a soul (and this was coming from folks who weren't Animistic in the least). These types of snow crystals sometimes stick together as they fall forming snow flakes which look sort of fluffy.

Then there are snow crystals that are needle-shaped. When those fall, plus a bit of wind, they're the type that can really sting your bare skin. Then there's hexagonal columns which are similar, but not usually as sharp and pointy. Some of this type form little caps on the end in which case they're called capped columns. The last couple types don't look precisely geometric. My favorite of the two is graupel, which forms when a hexagonal/stellar plate collects more moisture as it falls. The end result looks something like a tiny puff ball. The last type is just an irregular snow crystal which could take any sort of odd shape.

Once it's actually on the ground... sometimes you get snowcover that blows around easily. Other times it is wet and very heavy. As it melts you get slush... where the water to ice ratio is increasing. I don't know quite as much about types of snow cover though. Someone who skis might know more than I do. Hehe.

So, it's no wonder why the Inuit had so many names for snow. It really has quite a variety to it. We have the names too, you just have to dig into the scientific literature. Heck, until I bothered to study snow, even growing up with it my whole life I was ignorant of its wonderous complexity. Snow is like Gaia's artwork in a way. Endless variety of forms!  

[twilight insanity]

...o_0; ... um... i can't understand a single thing you said.... iii-_- damnit, i hate that i am a dropout... i only have a 10th grade education, and only 9th grade math education....so while i could recognize that you were using geometric terms, i had no idea what they were....if i wanted to, i could find out all the scientific facts about snow... >.> wasn't exactly what i was looking for.... iii-_- *sighs.* oh well... thanks though, i realy apreciate that you would go through trouble of trying to explain it for me. ^_^ *hugs.*  

[Starlock]

Hexagon. Think stop sign. Often you'll see depictions of snow crystals in advertizements that have more than six sides (often they'll show eight) but that is physically impossible. Snow crystals only have sides in factors of six (and then, you only get twelve because two snow crystals are stuck to each other in an improbably perfect alignment).

But yeah. It's like rain. Only it falls a lot slower, can more easily be blown sideways, takes up a lot more space, and stays on the ground an awful lot longer. And it's cold. whee  

[twilight insanity]

*sighs.* ... iii-_- last night i was walking to church in 18 degree weather... but... of course, whenever it gets cold enough here in florida, no precipitation... my hands were litterally limned, but nope. nothing. nose dripping were freezing on my face, and my nose was raw from rubbing... and i missed all but the last 40 minutes of the thing...spent longer walking there than listening to the speach...i wish it would snow... sad  

[Starlock]

Yeah, it doesn't usually snow in Florida. But hey, it's not like you live in Mesoamerica where you don't live anywhere close to where you could easily go to see snow. Just take a road trip up here this winter. A day drive will get you to the snow border. wink  

[twilight insanity]

.....um.... redface i can't drive, and i've never been out of state....