What is That Squeak I Hear?
Winter snow brings both hazards and happiness into our lives. Even an old fellow like me, who can only dream of skating and skiing, can still enjoy interesting sounds as I stroll in the snow.
As a kid, I was always worried that the squeaks and crunches I heard while walking in the snow might be coming from some little creatures I was squashing with my feet! While there are plenty of insects who survive in the snow, such as snow flees and spiders, they are not the cause of the noise. Insects survive all the hazards of winter, including the extreme cold, by producing a natural anti freeze that prevents their body cells from rupturing in the cold.
When it gets very cold, insects remain flexible. On the other hand, the effect of extreme cold on snow flakes causes them to change into abrasive, inflexible, hard, ice-crystals. This is the real cause of the squeaks and crunches. When thousands of these brittle crystals are tightly compressed under the weight of our feet, they rub against each other making a characteristic squeak and then a crunch.
When it warms up a bit, the flat hexagonal snow flakes become more flexible. Water layers reappear between the flakes and act as a lubricant, stopping the squeak just like oil stops a squeaking hinge.
So next time you hear a squeak in the snow, you will know that it really is a cold day. And don’t worry about those insects, they are doing just fine.
Snow has the power to transform a dreary landscape of dull greens, greys and browns in the span of a few hours. Under a blanket of snow, an unattractive view of dead grass, leafless trees, and drab terrain (perhaps even littered with garbage) can look beautiful, healthy and inviting.
As it falls through the air snow seems to clean airborne pollution so that on a sunny day after an overnight snowfall, the air is fresh and crisp. Even those who don’t enjoy more active winter sports can often be induced to take a walk under such pleasant conditions.
With the ugliness of natural litter and human pollution covered up, the countryside looks beautiful and pure when topped by a layer of fluffy snowflakes glittering in the sunlight. The effect can be dazzling and the visual impact profound.
There are several expressions which incorporate snow: “Snow-white.” “Pure as the driven snow.” These tie the subject with the association of snow as a symbol of purity and cleanness. To be “snowed under” employs the image of a heavy snowfall overwhelming us. When a flatterer is on the loose and showering us with undue adulation we might respond with “It’s starting to snow in here.” A “snow job” describes a cover up.
Some of these expressions have fairly recent origins, others, more ancient. The Bible invokes an image of purity with the expression “white as snow.” Typically it does so in reference to the human soul which is pure enough to be fit for the presence of God.
Most of us would not feel that way, if we scrutinized our lives very carefully. Yet there is hope for a conscience that is clear, a life that is pure and, indeed, a future that is glorious. The good news is that this state of being does not depend on some enormous amount of human will-power and energy to be possible.
The classic quotation from the Bible about this reads: "Come now, and let us reason together," says the LORD, "Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow."
David Humphreys and Ron Hughes
