Beautiful Snow Pictures – A Winter Wonderland

To anyone who lives in a typically warm climate, the winter scenes depicted in these snow pictures may seem, in some ways, a bit cold and uninviting. In the northern hemisphere, particularly in countries such as Canada, the northern U.S., or the Scandinavian countries, winter is a part of life. Most of us don’t hibernate, we get out there and enjoy it, and make the best of it. It’s quite beautiful in its own way.

Whether it’s skiing, tobogganing, ice hockey, pleasure skating, making snow angels or snowmen, or just taking a stroll…it really doesn’t matter that it’s cold, as long as you’re dressed for such weather. After all, you know you’ll soon be indoors where it’s nice and warm, perhaps in front of a fireplace, cuddling with the one you love, with a cup of hot chocolate.

As with my autumn and beautiful flowers photos, I’ve selected a few of my favourite snow pictures, for your enjoyment. I risked the possibility of frostbite to get some of these pictures, but you can appreciate them without freezing as well. You may want to put on a sweater, just in case.

If the temperature is not too cold, and the winds are light, a heavy snowfall attaches to the bare branches of the trees, sticking like whipped cream to every single branch.

If you live in any small town in Canada or northeastern U.S., with many older houses, this winter scene no doubt looks quite familiar.  There’s something about older houses…they have real character, and the snow that hangs over the trees and bushes merely adds to the character of the winter scenes.

Living near a large park, or ravine enables you to view the relatively unspoiled dusting of snow, in its most natural setting. If the creek is fast moving, and the air is a bit more temperate, you can see the water gurgling under and over sheets of ice and snow.

When the winds pick up, a fresh dumping of snow sends thousands of snowflakes into snowdrifts, forming incredibly fascinating and unusual shapes around anything they encounter.

Winter

Yet all how beautiful!

Pillars of pearl

Propping the cliffs above,

stalactites bright

From the ice roof depending;

and beneath,

Grottoes and temples

with their crystal spires

And gleaming columns

radiant in the sun.

_{William Henry Burleigh}

When several snowfalls accumulate, it soon becomes a problem of where to put all that snow.  This winter scene is a common one in many snowbound cities, usually once every winter at least, where the front lawns are piled high with a mountain of snow.

A forlorn and lonely park bench sits with a form-fitting dusting of snow, awaiting warmer weather, and the tired feet of passersby.

The Winter’s Spring

I love the snow, the crumpling snow
That hangs on everything
It covers everything below
Like white dove's brooding wing,
A landscape to the aching sight,
A vast expanse of dazzling light.

It is the foliage of the woods
That winters bring—the dress,
White Easter of the year in bud,
That makes the winter Spring.
The frost and snow his posies bring,
Nature's white spurts of the spring.

_{John Clare}

When the winter cold finally starts to abate, the ice that coats the rivers and ponds gradually melts, creating openings around any vegetation that sticks out of the ice.

An outdoor deck which, during summer days provides a shady refuge from the hot sun, plays host to some deep snow blankets.

Another classic old house, with its expansive lawn frontage and undisturbed carpet of snow, becomes a veritable ‘Christmas card’ winter scene.

Out of the bosom of the Air,

Out of the cloud-folds of her garments shaken,

Over the woodlands brown and bare,

Over the harvest-fields forsaken,

Silent, and soft, and slow

Descends the snow.

Even as our cloudy fancies take

Suddenly shape in some divine expression,

Even as the troubled heart doth make

In the white countenance confession,

The troubled sky reveals

The grief it feels.

This is the poem of the air,

Slowly in silent syllables recorded;

This is the secret of despair,

Long in its cloudy bosom hoarded,

Now whispered and revealed

To wood and field.

_{Henry Wadsworth Longfellow}

Though the winter winds may sometimes blow cold, the beauty of nature can be enjoyed in spite of the chill. Anyone who’s grown up with such winter weather isn’t usually bothered that much…it’s in our blood. Besides, as the daylight grows gradually longer, it makes the summer weather something to look forward to…at long last.

All photographs and content are copyright 2011 by timorous+, except as noted.

If you wish to use any of these images for commercial purposes, please contact me through Hubpages. Thank you.

Thanks for enjoying the natural beauty of these snow pictures.