The Short, Happy Life of Sue's Snowman

The Worldly Hope men set their Hearts upon

Turns Ashes--or it prospers; and anon

Like Snow upon the Desert's dusty Face,

Lighting a little hour or two--is gone.

--from The Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam, Edward FitzGerald, 1859

Late in the evening on December 5th, it started to rain. In the middle of the night it changed to ice. By mid-morning on the 6th it was snowing heavily and continued to do so for much of the day. We eventually got about 10 inches which lingered on the ground during the series of cold days that followed.

By the 11th it had become good packing snow, which made possible the birth of Snowman. Here he proudly stands beside his mother--sturdy, straight, and smiling.

Snowman enjoyed his days in the sun, but by the 15th was starting to develop an elderly list to the left and a pinched smile.

As you can imagine, Snowman was beginning to welcome the chilly December evenings.

Even so, time does not stop for man or snowman. Here he is late in the afternoon of the 16th.

And then an hour later.

And then a minute later.

By the 17th Snowman was little more than a memory.

Sic transit gloria . . .