Surprise! Snow!

The flakes began falling during the early afternoon. I got up from my desk and rushed over to a co-worker's office to look out the window and see for myself.

For anyone who's lived in a place where snow is a regular occurrence, it probably seems silly the way Portlanders fall over themselves -- sometimes literally -- whenever it happens here.

I guess it happens seldom enough that it's still kind of magical. You can almost sense the whole city stopping what it's doing to look up and see these delicate flakes floating down from the heavens, somehow piling up in such quantity that they leave beauty wherever you look.

Walking home after a longer-than-usual bus ride, it occurred to me that snow is like a great equalizer. It puts a Saab on an even footing with a Subaru or a Ford. Without proper traction devices on the tires, they're going to slip and slide. It makes a wealthy neighborhood look like identical to a poor one. Snow obscures a manicured lawn just as it does one where car parts are strewn about.

Lights gleam brighter. Silence envelops whole neighborhoods. Ice clings to tree branches in the hills and on the flats. Ain't no difference anywhere.

Photos: Above, looking north on N.E. 13th Avenue; at left, our condo, with holiday lights.