Very early this morning, I awoke to a beautiful snow-covered wonderland. It was so quiet, so serene, so awe inspiring.
Now many would probably not agree with this idyllic description. Their first thoughts might be, “Oh no! I will have to clear the driveway to get the car out of the garage.” Or if their car was not sheltered by a carport or garage, they may think, “Oh great! Now I have to scrape the windows and dig my car out from the snowbank. I’ll never get to work on time.”
Fortunately, I did not have to do either of these things this morning. I did not have to leave the house unless I chose to do so, and that was a good thing. I had the luxury of sitting with a cup of coffee and marveling at the beauty of a winter wonderland.
I started thinking that there are no 2 snowflakes exactly alike, at least that is what I was always told. But I wondered, “How could this be? Seems rather impossible since there are billions and billions –a term Carl Sagan always used to describe the number of galaxies in our universe– of snowflakes in our world.”
So I decided to search for an answer — where else but on the internet. Much to my surprise the answer was there in a blink of an eye and it confirmed my belief: yes, there are no two snowflakes alike.
Dr. Ken Libbrecht, Professor of Physics at Caltech and Chairman of the Physics Department was my source. Pictures (and movies) of growing snow crystals can be found on his Snow Crystals page along with detailed information on how they form and where they originate. A very worthwhile site to visit.
Those who need to hassle with all the complications snow can create, may still not be enamored with or appreciate the beauty and sheer awesomeness of this wonder of creation. There may be some who do not believe that there are no 2 snowflakes the same but since this is my story, I am sticking to it! 🙂
A snowflake is simply unbelievably breathtaking.
Coming Home to Self 