{"id":8313,"date":"2020-11-13T16:38:41","date_gmt":"2020-11-13T22:38:41","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/stateoftheozarks.net\/showcase\/?p=8313"},"modified":"2020-11-13T16:55:32","modified_gmt":"2020-11-13T22:55:32","slug":"persimmon-snow","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/stateoftheozarks.net\/showcase\/2020\/11\/13\/persimmon-snow\/","title":{"rendered":"Persimmon Snow"},"content":{"rendered":"

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]PLATE 1.<\/span> Detail photo, persimmon bark (Diospyros virginiana<\/span><\/em>).<\/strong>[\/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]<\/p>\n

\n

Persimmon Snow<\/h1>\n<\/div>\n

by Joshua Heston<\/h2>\n

It was a persimmon snow that fell heavily across the Ozarks just prior to the 72nd anniversary of Pearl Harbor Day. Branson tourism came to a stormy halt as the week\u2019s previously balmy 70-degree temperatures were replaced by icy winds and a \u201cwintry mix\u201d that ultimately dropped nearly a foot of snow across the mountains. No quaint almanac peppered with images of old Roman gods or fancy meteorological number-crunching data could have predicted this snow better than the unprepossessing persimmon seed.<\/p>\n

Sliced into halves, many persimmon seeds throughout the Ozarks this fall showed a \u201cspoon,\u201d indicating soup weather and plenty of snow to shovel.<\/p>\n

And shovel snow we did. When the torrents of snow finally stopped, a momentary bout of high pressure brought subfreezing nighttime temperatures and a beautifully clear sky early the next day. This gallery records a few, fleeting moments of that morning \u2014 the Ozarks\u2019 first persimmon snow of 2013.[\/vc_column_text][vc_single_image image=”8306″ img_size=”full”][vc_column_text]<\/p>\n

PLATE 2.<\/span> Wild raspberry leaves (Rubus strigosus<\/span><\/em>) shine through after the storm, a joyful splash of color (and reminder of a brilliant fall) amid a landscape gone suddenly white.<\/strong><\/p>\n

[\/vc_column_text][vc_single_image image=”8298″ img_size=”full”][vc_column_text]<\/p>\n

PLATE 3.<\/span> A small pond hidden within a quiet cedar grove would, in summertime, be smelling of mud and serve as little more than a breeding ground of mosquitoes. In winter, it is transformed into an artist\u2019s icy palette of blues and whites. One is reminded of Celtic mythology\u2019s enchanted pools \u2014 thin places through which one may reach a magical Otherworld.
\n<\/strong><\/p>\n

[\/vc_column_text][vc_single_image image=”8308″ img_size=”full”][vc_column_text]<\/p>\n

PLATE 4.<\/span> The branches of oak trees in a fence row make weird, sky-like patterns of cornflower blue against the white.<\/strong><\/p>\n

[\/vc_column_text][vc_single_image image=”8312″ img_size=”full”][vc_column_text]<\/p>\n

PLATE 5.<\/span> First light of day paints lingering oak leaves with a warm brush, belying the plunging temperatures and icy winds.
\n<\/strong><\/p>\n

[\/vc_column_text][vc_single_image image=”8301″ img_size=”full”][vc_column_text]<\/p>\n

PLATE 6.<\/span> A rust-colored, sedge-like grass, spiky and suddenly dramatic, is framed by winter.<\/strong><\/p>\n

[\/vc_column_text][vc_single_image image=”8305″ img_size=”full”][vc_column_text]<\/p>\n

PLATE 7.<\/span> Seemingly delicate, a pin oak (Quercus palustris<\/span><\/em>) leaf lies dusted with frost and lit by the morning sun, a poetic afterthought of both wind and storm.
\n<\/strong><\/p>\n

[\/vc_column_text][vc_single_image image=”8302″ img_size=”full”][vc_column_text]<\/p>\n

PLATE 8.<\/span> Dark and icy tones of shadow and frost give easily overlooked woody stems and still-green grasses a menacing tone \u2014 a surreal peek into an odd world seemingly existing just out of sight.<\/strong><\/p>\n

[\/vc_column_text][vc_single_image image=”8300″ img_size=”full”][vc_column_text]<\/p>\n

PLATE 9.<\/span> Old fence row and tangle of cedar and elm create shadows of interest \u2014 coupled with surprisingly warm light \u2014 across a landscape normally considered plain and easily passed by.
\n<\/strong><\/p>\n

[\/vc_column_text][vc_single_image image=”8303″ img_size=”full”][vc_column_text]<\/p>\n

PLATE 10.<\/span> Feathery and fern-like ice crystals trace across dry stems in this detail. The intricacy gives emotional meaning to old, 19th century stories of Jack Frost and even older Northern European folklore from Germany and Scandinavia.<\/strong><\/p>\n

[\/vc_column_text][vc_single_image image=”8309″ img_size=”full”][vc_column_text]<\/p>\n

PLATE 11.<\/span> Not the brush of angel wings but rather those of a tufted titmouse or chicadee seeking grass seeds on a cold morning leaves the delicate imprint seen in the upper left portion of the photo. Not heavy enough to penetrate the snow, snowbirds scratch across the powder, leaving only ghostly impressions.
\n<\/strong><\/p>\n

[\/vc_column_text][vc_single_image image=”8307″ img_size=”full”][vc_column_text]<\/p>\n

PLATE 12.<\/span> Possumhaw brightens the sky. The posssumhaw (Ilex decidua<\/span><\/em>) is a food source of birds and one of the most beautiful Christmas decorations you can hope to find in the Ozark woods, especially when framed by white snow set against a brilliant blue.<\/strong><\/p>\n

[\/vc_column_text][vc_single_image image=”8311″ img_size=”full”][vc_column_text]<\/p>\n

PLATE 13.<\/span> Deep beneath the cedars, soft, curving lines of shadow and snow combine. It won\u2019t be long before this pristine blanket is marked by tracks of deer and rabbit searching for food.
\n<\/strong><\/p>\n

[\/vc_column_text][vc_single_image image=”8299″ img_size=”full”][vc_column_text]<\/p>\n

PLATE 14.<\/span> A cold yet brilliant sun penetrates a cedar glade, made mysterious, magical beneath the snow-laden branches. Thoughts of C. S. Lewis\u2019 Narnia and a bewitching but harsh and endless winter arise.<\/strong><\/p>\n

[\/vc_column_text][vc_single_image image=”8310″ img_size=”full”][vc_column_text]<\/p>\n

PLATE 15.<\/span> An almost-lunar landscape, painted in shades of blue and ice, sparkles while outlining the shadowed, drifting footprints of another.
\n<\/strong><\/p>\n

[\/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]The scene above (PLATE 15<\/span>) is universal within certain latitudes. There is nothing inherent within the photo to indicate the Ozark Mountains. And yet it is that very universality which gives such images their power. Visual moments like this one, fleeting as they may be, have been traced throughout our history, from when hunting men first plunged into a mountain snowstorm to the last time a toddler fell headfirst into his first drift. Both loved and hated, snow is a powerful image-maker and ancient herald of an at-times drastic and vivid season.<\/p>\n

Originally published December 7, 2013<\/span>[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row]<\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]PLATE 1. Detail photo, persimmon bark (Diospyros virginiana).[\/vc_column_text][vc_column_text] Persimmon Snow by Joshua Heston It was a persimmon snow that fell heavily across the Ozarks just prior to the 72nd anniversary of Pearl Harbor Day. Branson tourism came to a stormy halt as the week\u2019s previously balmy 70-degree temperatures were replaced by icy winds and a…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":8304,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[582,581],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-8313","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-sotoarchive","category-sotofeature","category-582","category-581","description-off"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/stateoftheozarks.net\/showcase\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8313","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/stateoftheozarks.net\/showcase\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/stateoftheozarks.net\/showcase\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateoftheozarks.net\/showcase\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateoftheozarks.net\/showcase\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=8313"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/stateoftheozarks.net\/showcase\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8313\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":8320,"href":"https:\/\/stateoftheozarks.net\/showcase\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8313\/revisions\/8320"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateoftheozarks.net\/showcase\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/8304"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/stateoftheozarks.net\/showcase\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=8313"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateoftheozarks.net\/showcase\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=8313"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateoftheozarks.net\/showcase\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=8313"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}