A Silence Deep and White

The snow had begun to fall in the gloaming,

And busily all the night

Had been heaping field and highway

With a silence deep and white.

James Russell Lowell

Featured today is one of my very favourite vintage Christmas cards. I do not recall where it came from - maybe a garage sale, or a flea market. Or maybe it was tucked away in a donated book - in my line of work, that can happen often. People pass away, their stuff donated or sold - away and onward. I have no idea who the Tibbs or Johnstons were, and although I have had this card for many years, it is the first time I have noticed that Mrs. Johnston writes: "This is not just the book I wanted, but may appeal to the gardener in us all."  I wonder what book she may have been referring to? From the look of her handwriting, perhaps she was already advanced in years when she penned these few words. For me personally, the card itself is evocative of Christmases long ago - riding in the countryside with my father and sister - going to ski or snowshoe - feet aching with cold at the end of it all. Then, warming by the wood-stove at a friend's farm - the smell of wet woolen mittens - the welcoming warmth as toes unfroze. A simple sketch accompanied by a few brief lines, and yet draws out such deep and distant memories - tinged with melancholy and sadness of times gone by. Maybe one day someone else will find this card and treasure it as I have. I do hope so. In the meantime, while it lives here, may it stir another soul in need of some "memory and desire" and warmth. I am not so sure of April being the cruellest month...