It was the silence in the middle of the night which alerted me to what daylight would bring: snow's soft, puffy blanket covering everything. Unlike rain, snow sneaks up silently, secretively.
Snow is quite rare here. When it does happen, it is treasured and catalogued in detail.
It also doesn't last long.
A few hours into the day and puffy snow is plopping off branches, liberating weighted boughs and limbs, filling the garden with soft sound.
Snow on cactus never gets old.
I've read that snow, as it melts into the earth, delivers nitrogen to the soil. Snow is sometimes referred to as poor man's fertilizer.
I celebrate the perfect timing of this snowfall for the garlic and fruit trees.
The rainwater barrels are overflowing.
All this moisture is a good start to spring at this Lunar New Year of the Wood Dragon, even though the incoming weather system wrecked havoc with Saturday's Lunar New Year farmers market.
My market canopy blew away, sustaining some slight damage in the process, while it was challenging to keep the cloth stock on the tables, whipped up as it was by the icy wind.
Thankfully my upcycled fencing labels helped maintain a measure of control in the windy conditions - the picture is from market two weeks ago, in more clement weather.
I packed up half an hour early in light, squally rain but still managed to do alright. Canvas tote bags were popular.
From Signs of Spring to Feb Snow (short-lived as it was). The snow on cactus is a wonderful juxtaposition.