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It’s that time of year when I think a lot about snowflakes. Watching those pure white flakes drift out of the sky is one of life’s simple pleasures. They cheer up an otherwise gray day and make a lovely natural flocking on trees.
Pretty flocked trees in a shopping center parking lot.
Mr. Wilson A. Bently liked snowflakes too. He said,
Under the microscope, I found that snowflakes were miracles of beauty; and it seemed a shame that this beauty should not be seen and appreciated by others. Every crystal was a masterpiece of design and no one design was ever repeated. When a snowflake melted, that design was forever lost. Just that much beauty was gone, without leaving any record behind.
Known as “The Snowflake Man“, Mr. Bently adapted a microscope to a bellows camera. It was 1885 and with a lot of hard work he was the first person to photograph a snowflake. We’ve all heard that “no two snowflakes are alike” and we can attribute that to William “Snowflake” Bently. He photographed over 5000 snowflakes in his lifetime. Wow! What a task. How did he manage to keep them from melting? If ever I am in Jericho, Vermont, I may just visit his museum to see how he did that and see some of his photographs.
While I’m talking about snowflakes, I am wondering if you know that the largest snowflake ever recorded fell in Keogh, Montana? It is said that Matt Coleman found it on his ranch in January 28, 1887. The snowflake was 15 inches wide and 8 inches thick. Mr. Coleman described it as “larger than milk pans“. Thinking about the size of it, it’s hard to imagine it was a snowflake. Too bad “The Snowflake Man” wasn’t there to capture it.
I didn’t see a lot of snow when I was a kid, so perhaps that’s why I like it so much. I know it can be bothersome at times and I've written about that. But there's nothing like seeing the "moon on the breast of the new fallen snow" and how it gives a lustre of midday to objects below.
Sure we had snow, but rarely. For the most part, this is how we played with snowballs. I'm on the left of the snowman. To the right in the picture. What's up with those pants?
With that said, I'd like to share my aunt's recipe for snow cream. I was around 14 years old when my family and I visited North Carolina for the Christmas holidays. I had a blast sledding, caroling, and cutting down a Christmas tree in the woods. That's when I was introduced to the sweet goodness of this frozen confection called snow cream.
It's a simple recipe. All you need is:
A big bowl of fresh snow
1 can of sweetened condensed milk
Pour the sweetened condensed milk into snow and mix well.
