a photo account of montclair, nj post-storm. all photos taken by my brother (since i was stuck here in the city).
new yorkers were encouraged to stay home today.
work was cancelled. the day was suddenly mine and free.
my family was only twenty minutes away in new jersey. however with the 20-24 inches of snow on the roads they were as good as across the world.
so i was snowbound. all by my lonesome.
and what's a girl to do when the day stretches long before her? clean, of course.
i scrubbed the stove. the inside of the fridge. i soaked the garbage and recycling cans (in the bathtub, no less). got down on all fours and worked away at the spots on our aging wood floors.
and when all was said and done i took a walk.
i felt how the snow changes the city. how a quiet takes hold. inundates everything, everyone. how when the snow settles, but has yet to be cleared the city takes deep, gasping breaths. reaching for the stillness, the calm. pulling it into itself. storing it away. reveling in the short time it is allowed to simply be. to exist. and when no one is looking--when they're shielding their eyes from the snow, or digging a car out of the snowbank, the city exposes its heart. for just one moment. it opens up, unfolds, unfurls. feels the electric cold against its great, naked nerve. and then closes again. recharged. ready for the next.
if you're really quiet. if you stand really still. and you get really lucky. you'll feel it--the reverberations of it--in your bones. and the heart carries on.
24 comments:
You beautifully captured how I felt during the Snowmageddon I & II during February 2010 in Washington, DC. The city is so amazing after a great snowfall.
Enjoy!
gorgeous! i love how quiet it gets.
love your words in this post.
this is the perfect description of how i would imagine nyc in the silent snow. so beautiful.
Beautiful post! And I adore the color of the door in the sixth picture.
Every pic you post is always exactly what i would expect to find in America. Like the perfect little town. Snow everywhere. Picture perfect cute family houses.
mmmm, that's beautiful. these words melted my stress away. maybe i should come back & read this post every day 'til my wedding?? i think so!!
beautiful! I love how snow makes everything more quiet!
I love how snow makes everything quiet too. I live in the suburbs of Philadelphia and we got around 13 inches. Aren't unexpected snow days the bes?!
Just lovely, Meg. :)
There's definitely a special silence that comes with a snowfall. It's what I anticipate the most when I hear it's going to snow!
Eloquent as ever :)
NJ after a blizzard is absolutely picturesque, by the way.
beautiful photos.
props to you for cleaning on a snow day!
and as always, you write beautifully, extraordinarily.
So pretty! I've been seeing all of the snow on the news, but it's always nice to see photos taken by people who are actually living through it!
The beauty of snow is the peace it brings with it.
These photos are lovely!! I pretty much drove home for Christmas in a blizzard myself :) But you got to cleaning? I would have snuggled up in that reading chair so fast it might have fallen over ;)
this is beautiful.
The photos, and the words :o)
This isn't so much of a comment is simply quoting yourself back to you, but this paragraph:
i felt how the snow changes the city. how a quiet takes hold. inundates everything, everyone. how when the snow settles, but has yet to be cleared the city takes deep, gasping breaths. reaching for the stillness, the calm. pulling it into itself. storing it away. reveling in the short time it is allowed to simply be. to exist. and when no one is looking--when they're shielding their eyes from the snow, or digging a car out of the snowbank, the city exposes its heart. for just one moment. it opens up, unfolds, unfurls. feels the electric cold against its great, naked nerve. and then closes again. recharged. ready for the next.
is utterly, utterly sublime. That, right there, is literary talent. And that, right there, is the reason I check back here, at this url everyday. (Sometimes more than once; sometimes just to browse the archives; sometimes just to read real, natural beauty.)
Beautifully written.
These pictures are just divine. I grew up very close to Montclair, and it never ceases to amaze me that I took all of the beauty completely for granted. Through the eyes of visitors I get to really appreciate it as I should have all along.
Absolutely beautiful!
i am so sad i missed the blizzard! i need those feelings so much right now. i love walking down broadway after school when it's quiet, empty and covered in snow. sigh. enjoy it! also that second picture looks like a christmas card that i want to live in. so beautiful.
Love these pictures! It feels like a storybook-land. :)
Wow. Montclair looks like a beautiful place. I've never been there.
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