Winter Sketches

It is only the second week of March, less than 2 weeks until the day the calendar says is the first day of spring. But winter is slow to put off her mantle, especially in West Virginia. We drove through the Mountain State on our way to Blacksburg. It almost appeared the amount of snow was a state option: West Virginia still looked like a winter wonderland with the slopes at Winter Place brilliant white ribbons. From our interstate vantage we could see some of  the roads less traveled with white surfaces.

The brilliant sun which had been on vacation most of the winter warmed most of our trip with temperatures in the 50's except when we crossed the more than 3000 feet summit of Flat Top Mountain. Even with the warm temperatures it did not appear to make thaw flow excessive. The last of the winter snows had preceded our trip by several weeks but the thick white blanket gave a wonderful contrast to the brown and gray trees that protrude from the slopes. The snow seemed to melt first around the tree trunks giving each tree a clerical collar. The trip presented many pen and ink drawings with features of the landscape revealed that are obscure in other seasons. As we crossed into Virginia it appeared the Old Dominion had opted for less snow than had fallen on WVA.  On the North side of US 460 the brown and gray hues of bare fields and woodlands welcomed us while patchy snowscapes could be seen on the North facing slopes and higher elevations. The power line right-of ways still looked like the ski slopes we had passed earlier.

The sparkling New River looked playful. The lively waters rested in calm pools before taking an exhilarating slide over the banks of rocks. Soon the trees will begin to take on a slight blush before leaping into spring. The trip will soon offer a new set of technicolor paintings.