Hail, Winter!

Ice on a Table | Nimavenl

Today is the second day of November which makes yesterday the first day of November. Yesterday was also the first time this autumn that it hailed.

When it starts hailing it means it's cold enough outside to get my coat, gloves, beanie and scarf out. It means summer is gone, autumn is ON and winter really is on its way. Do I make a bad Game of Thrones joke now and add that yesterday's hail definitely shows that Winter is Coming? Maybe not...

Winter in The Netherlands is nowhere near as cold as in other parts of the world, however we do often get snow and ice. Not enough of it that we're snowed in or forced to stay home -- or able to hold the Elfstedentocht, most years -- however definitely enough to turn roads into slippery slides.

Hail | Nimavenl

Biking isn't always smart in winter, which means I get to look forward to the warmth of public transport and crunching through the snow on foot, enjoying the winter weather with my camera at the ready. Snow and ice seem to add something magical to the world, transforming ordinary scenes into surreal wonderlands that I can't help but want to take photos of. Lots of them.

Hail though (to get back on topic) makes me want to stay indoors until those tiny pellets of frozen rain have stopped falling from the sky. While rain can be warm, snow can be soft and both can be gentle, hail is harsh and cold and anything but soft or gentle. I've been hit on the nose by hailstones often enough to know that for a fact! Wanting to wrap up in my winter coat, gloves and beanie when it starts hailing isn't just about the weather changing and the approach of winter! As cold and harsh as hail may be, there is also a great deal of beauty in the barely contained violence of a hailstorm. I'm drawn to the window to watch the hail coming down time after time, awed by the power of nature and the knowledge that rain, hail or shine, life goes on, the earth keeps turning and the seasons will change. Hail, Winter!