Up the Creek

by

Ken M. Blomberg

It starts with a single snowflake. One flake followed by another and yet another, until a mountain of flakes becomes a blanket. A blanket of snow – that for the most part, has made many folks around here happy. This week’s snowfall followed by an arctic blast of sub-zero temperatures stopped most of us in our tracks – winter is really here!

Snowmobilers are smiling. Could trails open up this year? A relative told me last weekend southern Wisconsin trails were opened after a foot of snow covered the lower third of the state. Winter wildlife enjoy the new snow’s insulation properties. Ruffed grouse snow roost in between feeding times. Rabbits burrow under snow covered brush piles. Hibernating mammals of all stripes appreciate the cover of the snow blanket.

Although it’s a curse for those nursing sore backs and wielding snow shovels, abundant snow is in fact a blessing in disguise. In a couple of months, warmer temperatures will turn the snow cover into much needed inches of groundwater – as aquifers await a fresh supply of water that avoids running off downstream during the melt – brought to us snowflake by snowflake, raindrop by raindrop.

Individual snowflakes, when put under a microscope, bring the world of art and science into concert. To view a single snowflake – and for that matter, designs made by frost on window panes – is to draw the observer into another dimension. To count a billion snowflakes would be laborious.

In 1880, fifteen year-old Vermont farmer Wilson Bentley, drew pictures of his “tiny miracles of beauty” – snowflakes. By age twenty, he had devised a method to catch flakes on velvet cloth and photograph their image before they melted. Over a lifetime, he recorded over 5,000 different ice crystal shapes.  He long contended that no two snowflakes were alike, each with a unique design and shape. He went on to photograph other forms of water – like ice, raindrops, clouds and fog.

Wilson “Snowflake” Bentley died a single man.  Just as well, a woman married to a man whose passion was counting snowflakes would surely have suffered. Mixing the incredible complexity of nature, crystalline science and snowflake art – his legacy brought science and art together, answering yet another piece of nature’s puzzle.

Stepping beyond science, we can only grin and bear it and embrace nature’s way. As the snow melts in the coming months, recall the unpredictability and power of Mother Nature and prepare for possible flooding, it is likely to follow, as soil moisture was high last fall. For those that live in heavy soils and low-lying areas – make sure your sump pump is in good working order.

In the meantime, when the weather moderates in between arctic blasts, take a drive and soak in winter’s wonderland. Get out your skis and snowshoes. Go ice fishing or snowmobiling. Read a book in front of the fireplace while sipping a cup of hot chocolate. Whatever your winter pastime is, enjoy the season and count the snowflakes.

Blomberg is the author of two books, UP THE CREEK, and WISCONSIN BIRD HUNTING TALES. Both are available at either amazon.com, barnesandnoble.com or arcadiapublishing.com. Autographed copies are available from the author at [email protected].