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First Snowfall Days
"🎶 Oh the first snowfall of the winter
Was a day that we all waited for
When it drifted to and fro
Why you should've seen the snow
It was near seven feet or more
By the old barn door
Oh the first snowfall of the winter
What a joy for a boy to behold
In each house you'll find a sleigh
That was waiting for this day
And of course, down the road a hill
For each Jack and Jill"
~ The First Snowfall, 1955
In the northern hemisphere, where snow is a seasonal visitor, the first snowfall can arrive as early as late October or as late as the end of December, though it most often graces us by mid-November. Many people celebrate this enchanting event with traditions like having a double breakfast upon waking to the snow, toasting the snowfall with a favorite drink as evening falls (letting the snowflakes settle on you if you can!), or transforming a cozy afternoon hot cocoa into “Snowman Soup” with a scoop of fresh snow. The first snow’s touch on evergreens creates a crystalline beauty, with the blue spruce especially standing out; its blue-tinted needles gather snowflakes in a way that highlights its elegance, colors echoed in a lovely tartan pattern. Native to North America, the blue spruce (Picea pungens) thrives naturally as far south as Arizona, Colorado, Idaho, New Mexico, Utah, and Wyoming. It holds a sacred place in Navajo and Keres Native American traditions, where its twigs were gifted for good fortune and its needles brewed in infusions to treat colds and soothe the stomach. Symbolizing pure intentions, the blue spruce and other spruces are celebrated for representing generosity, enlightenment, protection, healing, and intuition. Has snow reached your area yet? 💚 💙 🤍 💚 🌲 🌨️ ❄️ ❄️ ❄️
This tartan is older design by Aljean of Vancouver, a fashion manufactuer in Canada (1968-1983).
One of the most well known spruce trees, Old Tjikko, is a 9,550 year-old Norway spruce, located on Fulufjället Mountain of Dalarna province in Sweden. Old Tjikko originally gained fame as the "world's oldest tree", however, Old Tjikko is, however, a clonal tree that has regenerated new trunks, branches and roots over millennia rather than an individual tree of great age. Old Tjikko is recognized as the oldest living Picea abies and the fourth-oldest known clonal tree.
Spruce tips are naturally high in Vitamin C and a good source for foragers who can identify them.
For more on the blue spruce in Native American folkore and medicine, click the needles!