Snowy Day on Wolf Creek

November in Northeast Ohio can bring all sorts of weather variations. This year we have gone from 70's early in the month to an early dose of winter, seeing a constant snow cover on the ground for two weeks preceding Thanksgiving.

An evening coating of snow with the temperature hovering around freezing produced a magnificent shimmering of white over the freshly barren trees of the region. Turning on my 500-watt halogen backyard light captured a wonderful moment that had me thinking of Robert Frost. (above right: a little Photoshop enhancement of my backyard, with a touch of "Frost" -- click to enlarge)

The next morning the frosting of the foliage had a particularly striking effect along Minor Road and Wolf Creek in Copley, Ohio (see left, click to enlarge). Once a small creek, today it is dammed for Barberton's drinking water supply and off-limits to boating and fishing. Atop one of the rolling hills overlooking the creek is the acclaimed Wolf Creek Winery, where an outdoor deck overlooks the vista of the creek valley.

Where Cleveland-Massillon Road and Minor Road cross it separately, and Summit Road parallels it, each fall Wolf Creek can be colorfully vibrant in the bright morning sun or haunting in the fog and mist of an October day.

Minor Road has few curves, but is hilly and at its crest just west of Wolf Creek, an east-bound photo this morning revealed a cavern of white clinging to trees, shrubs and bushes (see right, click to enlarge).

There are few places like Northeast Ohio. We enjoy four full seasons, with none overpowering the others. We may have years where winter lingers too long or summer sizzles too hot, spring being a wee bit short or barely a taste of fall. But stick around the state long enough and you will experience the splendor of what each season yields.

Ohio can dance with Vermont in the fall and Virginia in the spring; the Carolinas in the summer and Colorado in the winter.

-J.