It’s hard to describe what it is like to be outside in winter in Sweden.  Of course it is cold and of course there is snow.  But then imagine you are in a vacuum, where there is no sound except for the sound you make.  Like if you watch a sci-fi movie that is based in space.

As I write this and look outside I also get a complete sense of stillness.  The trees aren’t swaying, the wind has not even touched the snow that fell a week ago.  The only disruption I can see in an otherwise perfect landscape is that which I or animals have made.  It creates a scene of unparalleled beauty, compounded by the eerie sense of emptiness.

Growing up in the Midwest USA, I have forgotten how much the wind accompanies you there; I suppose you only notice it in its absence, like I do now.