One night this last week it snowed in Boerne. Now if you’re from places like Minnesota or New England, you’ll probably find it odd that I’m excited about a half-inch of snow. But even a dusting of snow is a big deal in the Texas Hill Country. And it’s even a bigger deal for transplanted Southern Californians, like me and my family.
During my seven years living in the Boston area while I was in school, I experienced plenty of snow, including one storm that dropped 29 inches and shut down classes for several days. But, since then, I lived for more than two decades in the flatlands of Southern California, where snow falls about once every century, if that. I missed the excitement of snow, along with the way it transforms the world. My wife and children have never lived in place where snow falls. So we all enjoyed the surprise of snow in Boerne last week.

The weather in Texas never ceases to amaze me. Last Tuesday, it was unseasonably warm during the day, with the high in Boerne reaching 77 degrees. But, in the late afternoon the temperature began to drop quickly. By 11:00 p.m. it was 34 degrees. By 11:15 it was snowing. When we awoke the next morning, it was 29 degrees, and there was a modest dusting of snow covering our house and yard. Here are some photos to prove that I’m telling the truth

My family, dog included, enjoying the first few snowflakes.

My dog ran a few dozen “puppy laps,” but then settled in to enjoy the snow.

Our house the next morning. As I said, a dusting. But that’s more than we ever got in Irvine.