Let It Snow!!!

Today I felt like a kid again. The predicted snow actually fell and no one was happier than me. Ok, maybe a hundred thousand or more school kids who got to play in it, but really, I was right up there with them.

A local news reporter once said that seeing snow in Memphis is like seeing an Alien landing in that people just aren't used to it and they don't know how to cope with it. It is true that snow here is a rarity. Today was, perhaps, the only snow that we'll get this year. And it was largely because of this fact that I felt compelled to don my woolen mittens and sally forth into The Great Blizzard of 2008 (actually I think we got between 4-6 inches).

The General Store was "a-buzz" with activity and provided a great HQ from which to launch my expedition. I began there and, of course, took multiple photos from the outside in the driving snow. In fact, the first two photos of my Nathan's 9 gallery this week come from those shots.

The remainder of the day was fraught with peril and great, quieting beauty. I can promise you that with the exception of the rangers, I was the only person at the park that day. Even some of the rangers passed me and looked at me as if I were mad. Perhaps I was. I do know that I was super lucky because I managed to get down the really steep grade by the entrance to Piersol Lake just prior to the rangers shutting down the road (it is steep and quite treacherous with ice). If I'd been 10 minutes later, my access would have been denied and no one would have seen what I shot. You'll see several photos from this "forbidden zone" in today's gallery.

After that stop, I made several others just taking in the fury of the storm and trying, as best I could, to keep my Nikon from getting drenched. It's rare that wind is strong enough to penetrate the heavily wooded forest but today was an exception. I'm quite fond of some of the photos I made this day and because I want to share the beauty of Shelby Forest in such an unatural state (one which most people will never get to see), I have thrown my "Nathan's 9" out the window and have provided a "Nathan's 61" for today with many shots of the park.

Check them out here (Nathan's 9) and please do drop me a line and let me know what you think. Thanks - Nathan