Eight inches of snow isn’t much where I grew up, but here it grinds things to a halt, and after the flurry of phone calls and texts in the wee hours of the morning, deciding whether to open my agency (Will clients show? Do we want staff on the roads? How much money will we lose and is it worth the risk?) things quiet down and the snow accumulates. Sounds are muffled. The animals snooze. I watch the snow fall, hypnotic and beautiful. I snooze. Candles flicker. Peace.