Early snow and a quiet November sunrise — the first sign that winter arrived ahead of time

This year, winter didn’t bother knocking.
It simply walked in — quietly, unexpectedly — on a cold November morning.

The first snow arrived much earlier than anyone around here was ready for. While last year I waited until the end of December to see even a dusting of white, this November greeted me with a thin, crisp layer of snow softening the entire landscape. The air felt different, too — sharper, stiller — as if the world was holding its breath before the true start of winter. Even the sound seemed muted, wrapped in that familiar snowy hush, with only the faint crunch of my boots breaking the silence.