• Latest

You Will Not Hear It Fall

December 8, 2015
5th Annual Vermont ATHENA Leadership Awards Gala

5th Annual Vermont ATHENA Leadership Awards Gala

December 7, 2023
Whale Sized Donation from Local “Whales Tails” Sock Fundraiser

Whale Sized Donation from Local “Whales Tails” Sock Fundraiser

December 5, 2023

Heating System Safety

December 5, 2023

Poll: Vermonters Overwhelmingly Support Ending the Sale of Flavored Tobacco

December 5, 2023

Temporary Direct Housing Assistance Is Available for Eligible Survivors of Vermont’s July 7-21 Severe Storms, Flooding, Landslides and Mudslides

December 5, 2023
African Queen (1951)

Miracle on 34th Street (1947)

December 5, 2023

Statement from the Vermont Congressional Delegation on the Montpelier Post Office

November 28, 2023
The 4th Annual Cabot Village 12th Night Celebration January 5th and 6th, 2024

The 4th Annual Cabot Village 12th Night Celebration January 5th and 6th, 2024

November 28, 2023

National Life Group and Sodexo Give Away Over 1,200 Free Thanksgiving Dinners In Washington County

November 28, 2023
African Queen (1951)

Funny Girl (1968)

November 28, 2023
Just Some Thoughts

It Won’t Happen to Me

November 28, 2023
African Queen (1951)

All That Heaven Allows (1955)

November 21, 2023
  • Home
  • Disclaimer
  • Privacy
  • Sitemap
Friday, December 8, 2023
The World Online
  • Home
  • News & Features
    • Local News
    • Letters & opinions
    • George Shuman
    • Max’s View
    • Local Sports & Outdoors
    • Births
  • Calendar
    • Art Exhibits
    • Calendar of Events
    • Ongoing Events
  • Obituaries
  • Submit
    • Submit Calendar Listing for Non-Profit Events
    • Submit An Article To The World
    • Submit Letter To The Editor
    • Submit Sports News/Photo
    • Submit Birth Announcement
    • Submit Engagement Announcement
    • Submit Wedding Announcement
  • Advertising
    • World Rates and Ad Sizes
    • World Distribution Map
    • World Deadlines
    • Audit and Reader Surveys
    • Advertising Inquiry
  • Classifieds
    • Place Classified Ads
    • View Current Classifieds
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • News & Features
    • Local News
    • Letters & opinions
    • George Shuman
    • Max’s View
    • Local Sports & Outdoors
    • Births
  • Calendar
    • Art Exhibits
    • Calendar of Events
    • Ongoing Events
  • Obituaries
  • Submit
    • Submit Calendar Listing for Non-Profit Events
    • Submit An Article To The World
    • Submit Letter To The Editor
    • Submit Sports News/Photo
    • Submit Birth Announcement
    • Submit Engagement Announcement
    • Submit Wedding Announcement
  • Advertising
    • World Rates and Ad Sizes
    • World Distribution Map
    • World Deadlines
    • Audit and Reader Surveys
    • Advertising Inquiry
  • Classifieds
    • Place Classified Ads
    • View Current Classifieds
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
No Result
View All Result
The World Online
No Result
View All Result

You Will Not Hear It Fall

vt-world by vt-world
December 8, 2015
in George Shuman
0

By G. E. Shuman
Something is coming to New England, in a very short time. We receive it every year, and if it has not arrived by the time this issue of the World is published, don’t worry. It will be here soon enough. You probably are already aware that the ‘something’ I’m referring to here, is snow.

Snow first appears in the North, each late fall or early winter, almost in secret. Weather experts tell us, and are sometimes right, when the first or the next snowfall will happen, but it can still often take us by surprise. I still remember, as a child in Maine, being so excited to wake up some crisp late-fall morning to discover that the first snowfall of the year had come, softly, silently, as I peacefully slept. I always think, that when that clean white snow first comes, it arrives, as the fog in Carl Sandburg’s poem “Fog”, “on little cat feet”. It does not make a sound.

I began thinking all of this through, a few days ago, as I worked on my old snow blower, under the carport. Each year I try to get the aging machine ready for the huge amounts of snow we usually receive here in Vermont. This year I decided to get it a bit more prepared than I usually do. The machine is showing its years a bit, just as I am, and as things age, they need a bit more care. (I hope my wife reads that.) The snow blower has rust, and some moving parts that don’t work as well as they used to years ago. I can identify with those points, also. And, to my shame, I changed the old machine’s oil for the first time yesterday, and installed a brand new spark plug. Sometime in the next few days, I intend to remove a bit of the rust, and spray paint some places, to provide some protection, and, hopefully, make it last a few more years.

I installed the plug, filled up the gas tank, and prayed that the blower would start, which it almost immediately did. Only then did I remember how much I appreciate, but somehow hate the grating sound of that engine, as the device it powers helps me rid my driveway of the silent white stuff. What a contrast, I thought, between man’s machines, and the effortless occurrences of the natural world. My noisy, greasy, man-made thing, opposed, in more ways than one, to the silent white blankets of snow that it will soon encounter.

My faith makes me believe that a big snowfall is a sign of God’s power, in effortlessly blessing, or hindering us, depending on your feelings about snow, with many tons of frozen water, without making a sound. Our world meters all of this out to us, one flake at a time, because the land needs the moisture. It is a medicine which we need, and take, willingly or not so willingly, each winter. It comes, and it will always come, but you will not hear it fall.

Rain arrives in the other seasons, and often beats the ground, splashing into itself, in the very puddles that it forms. It is a sometimes comforting sound on the roof, and then it immediately rushes to streams, rivers and lakes. It is not the same with snow. Yes, sleet and hail can noisily pound on your frozen windshield in winter, but not snow. Wind whips around our homes, vibrating old window panes, seeking to enter at any spot that it might, but it’s not that way with snow. Snow comes, but you will not hear it fall. It then waits patiently, to fill the waterways when warmer weather arrives.

This winter, go outside during a fall of snow, and just stop. Don’t talk, don’t look at your cellphone, and for a moment, don’t even breathe. Be still, and listen. You may hear cars, or someone else’s cranky old snow blower in the distance. If you do, even those sounds will seem quieter, more distant, and muffled, all because of the blanket of white on the ground. Unless there is wind, the new snow will drop softly, silently, in peaceful stillness, straight down to the earth. You will see it, and you might feel it on your face, but, love it or hate it, you will not hear it fall.

“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.”

(Robert Frost)

Previous Post

Max’s View

Next Post

Start the New Year with a 'Skate For The Cure'

Next Post

Start the New Year with a 'Skate For The Cure'

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This Week’s Ads

  • Home
  • About Us
  • Disclaimer
  • Privacy
  • Sitemap
The World
403 US Route 302
Barre, VT 05641
Phone: (802) 479-2582

Copyright © 2019 The World Online. All Rights Reserved. Powered by CoolerAds.

No Result
View All Result
  • Art Exhibits
  • Audit and Reader Surveys
  • Births
  • Calendar
  • Contact Us
  • Daily Horoscope
  • Fall Guide 2023
  • Food & Recipe
  • Home
  • Obituaries
  • Ongoing Events
  • Pay Your Bill Here
  • Senior Living Edition
  • Showtimes
  • Submit Birth Announcement
  • Submit Calendar Listing for Non-Profit Events
  • Submit Engagement Announcement
  • Submit Listing to our Local Directory
  • Submit Sports News/Photo
  • Submit Wedding Announcement
  • Testimonials
  • Weather Forecast
  • World Coupons
  • World Deadlines
  • World Distribution Map
  • World Rate Card
  • World Rates and Ad Sizes
  • Disclaimer
  • Privacy
  • Sitemap
  • About Us
  • Vermont Lottery
  • Advertising Information
  • The World Staff
  • Advertising Inquiry
  • Submit Letter To The Editor
  • Local Directory
  • Poll Results
  • Local Deals
  • Classifieds
  • Submit An Article To The World
  • Events
  • The World – This Week’s Online Digital Edition
  • The World Auto & Sports

Copyright © 2019 The World Online. All Rights Reserved. Powered by CoolerAds.

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password?

Fill the forms bellow to register

All fields are required. Log In

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In