I’d never thought that I would see Southampton covered in a thick blanket of snow.

It’s a rare occasion, as we usually only have light snowfalls which will melt as soon as it hits the ground. In some cases, it stays for a while to form the thinnest layer of snow that looks like icing sugar. Six inches of snow? I’m sure people would struggle to remember the last time they had it.

Well, thanks to the Beast from the East, I got to experience that in Southampton (even though it was fleeting).

I think it was Wednesday (or maybe Tuesday) when the snow started falling, but I didn’t think it would stay for too long. Thursday morning, I woke up to a fresh layer of snow outside my window, and on Friday, the layer has grown thicker.

Seeing Southampton covered in snow was amazing. Everything looked different. More beautiful, more serene, and more… delicate. There was a stillness in the air that usually comes after a heavy snowfall, when everything was covered deep in snow. The thin layer of ice on the surface made the satisfying crunch with every step I took, and I savored all these little details.

And so on this momentous day, I also did a momentous thing: building my first ever snowman.

Little did I know that building a snowman was not an easy feat.

H and I really struggled to make this snowman look ‘right’. At first, it looked like Mordor. Then it looked like Darth Vader, and finally, it looked like a creepy perv. But by this time, my fingers and toes couldn’t handle the cold any longer, so we gave up trying to make him looked decent.

Later, I went outside again to take photos of this snowman (randomly named Walter) and the neighborhood.

It’s different from the scene in Gothenburg, and maybe not quite so whimsical, but it was still pretty.

This time, I could see the signs of spring coming, buried temporarily by the snow.

This winter had been difficult for me. I’m not sure why, but it felt longer, colder, and darker than the previous winters. Even my first winter in Southampton 4 years ago wasn’t this hard.

In any case, I’m glad that spring is well underway, and I can’t wait to see Southampton decorated with cherry blossoms, daffodils, and daisies.