BOSTON, Massachusetts, Dec 20 – It is such a wondrous sight: Snow that has freshly fallen — no footsteps, no car-tracks, no intrusion from Man… no imperfections. Just the whitest white you would ever see. And today, after nearly 12 hours of unending fall, the snow-cover everywhere is a foot and more thick. Even slender electricity cables across the street and towards homes bear snow on their tops two inches high.

We had been warned by relatives calling first from New York to say that a monster storm had drifted in from the mid-west, dumped a colossal amount of snow on them, and was headed up the east coast towards the northeast. “Prepare! It’s headed your way… and is really BIG.” Then another phoned from Delaware. “Gosh!” she exclaimed. “You would not believe how much snow we’re getting! And within a few hours, the storm will be dumping as much or more on the states further north.” And indeed it did. I have never seen so much snow fallen at any one time.

Elaborate decorations around and across trees in the gardens of New England were wreathed in snowy gear to give to the multi-coloured lights at night the true feature — that Festive glow — which so many households in tropical Guyana and the Caribbean islands seek to emulate by draping tinsel and ‘angel hair’ over their expensively lit artificial Christmas trees.

Then, just after noon today, with cessation of the snowfall which had descended out of leaden skies, there was again clear blue overhead. The sun appeared, gloriously bright but seemingly heatless, though its rays had the effect of making the absolutely white ground-cover appear even more absolute.

And when the wind began to gust, it blew tufts of snow, so light and wispy, from rooftops, separating it into zillions of individual tiny flakes which, as they drifted ground-wards, beautifully reflected the rays of the sun — to create a snow-day rainbow.

But the sheer beauty left by this snowstorm, and its purity, is a sight perhaps welcomed only by those who have no tight schedules, and by retirees who can spare the time to admire, for quickly a critical part of the scene is disturbed, as an efficient Department of Transport brings those who would tend to dream back to the necessities of a modern American city on the north-eastern seaboard.

Massive machines were quickly set to task: Snow shovels and plows, first on the highways and other major roads, then the secondary and minor roads — followed by other heavy equipment which spread huge quantities of salt and sand; while other manpower with smaller machines (snow-blowers) clear and liberally salt the sidewalks.

This operation is crucial, for when the snow is compacted underfoot by pedestrians, it freezes hard, becomes ice, and is highly dangerous, with people slipping, sliding and falling, at times injuring themselves.

Also, when the temperature gets to freezing point, small pools of water in sidewalk depressions become what is called ‘black ice’. They appear as innocent pools of water, but actually have a hard, dangerous, see-through surface which sends a careless foot slipping well ahead of a walker’s body and into a fall.

There is, however, a technique to staying safe while walking which has helped to keep me fall-free during two winters: Short steps, rather than long strides, with the body well forward, so that a misstep or ‘slip’ does not propel the walker backward into a fall, but allows rapid regain of balance and continued safe walking.

Further, a snowstorm like this brings an enormous amount of work for householders. Hours are spent in just digging out the family car for those without garages. Clearing driveways and stairways presents another challenging task, for the tradition of teenaged boys going around their neighbourhood offering to shovel snow for a small fee is all but gone.

The Department of Transport says that this year, it has more than 4,000 pieces of heavy equipment for clearing the roads of snow and keeping them driver-safe: It is responsible for 13,500 lane miles of highway and 2,900 bridges; and it expects to use more than 570,000 tons of salt on the roadways and sidewalks this winter.

In a note published 24 hours before the storm struck, the Department advised: “If driving, remember that the road in front of the plow is usually in much worse condition than the road behind the plow. Plows will typically travel under 35 miles per hour, and there is always a temptation to pass them. For safety purposes, it is recommended to stay a safe distance behind snowplows.”

These post-storm operations are essential… but what a mess, as the plows with their protective hard-rubber edges scoop deeply down to the surface of the road, churning snow and road-surface muck away onto the side. This is part of the little that is ugly about winter; another part being when the weather eventually warms and the great melt begins, to see all the huge discoloured globs of melting snow, though there should be some comfort in knowing that winter’s seemingly dirty water is flowing to resupply rivers and lakes and replenish the nation’s aquifers for quenching its people’s thirst next summer.

However, though beauty is somewhat spoilt by the Department’s activities in the interest of mobility and safety, there is still much fun to be had in the many snow-covered areas away from the thoroughfares and commercial activity.

All of the sloped terrain, parks and playing fields in residential areas become instant ski-runs as children and their parents — most of them coated, gloved, ear-muffed, goggled and booted to cope with the cold — emerge in droves to play in the snow… each fashioning his/her own version of ‘Frosty the Snowman’, hurling snowballs, sledding and snow-boarding … just having lots of fun.

Thus, winter in New England, unlike what dwellers in places of perpetual summer may think, is not a season to be feared, nor a season of relative inactivity, with the population overwhelmingly home-bound and bored. Open-air sporting events continue and attract massive crowds. Specific winter activities on ice abound, and are hugely popular. And there is a packed agenda of concert hall and other cultural programmes playing to sold-out audiences, to a greater extent than is the case during summertime. Indeed, some of the best of such shows tend to occur during winter.

From the effect of today’s prolonged snowfall, one thing seems assured: There is no prospect in the weather forecasts (and they tend are almost always very accurate here) for prolonged rain showers or days sufficiently warm to remove this huge blanket of snow and ice, so it seems that Boston and the rest of the northeast are very likely to experience a truly White Christmas 2009.