Though the residents of the metropolitan East Coast might not be entirely pleased with their first snow, for those of us who live in regions where we can expect it, the first snowfall of the year is often magical. The subtle late autumn hues of woods and fields are transformed into bright expanses under a blazing sun once the storm passes.

When our photographer Tony Jancek heard the evening forecast for the first snowfall of the season, he planned an early trip out into the hilly farm country of eastern New York so he could capture the transformed landscape before wind and sun flattened and melted the fluffy blanket of white. The storm was heralded by lowering skies, an unsettled and capricious breeze, and dropping temperatures, so that even the most unusual sight paled in the excitement of the impending weather change.

 

 
You didn’t need to hear the weather forecast to know the change was coming. Wildlife sense the change and they make ready, or they stand watch…

 

 
Then as night falls, the first flakes blow in from the southwest, melting at first, then more come and they stick. And when you wake in the morning, before opening your eyes, you know. You can sense it. The world outside is somehow quieter, hushed, soft. You look out the window to the transformed landscape. Of course, the Canada geese weren’t surprised.

 

 
The stoical cattle in this frosty field take it all in stride:

 

 
The hedgerow shadows stretch for the wooded hillside on the other end of the field:

 

 
Parting clouds leave a star-blaze sun:

 

 
An old barn overlooks a barren pasture, with the wood of one silo having long since been removed, leaving collapsed retention rings as a reminder of more prosperous days:

 

 
A gap in the crabapple trees opens a view into Vermont:

 

 

 

 
Wind plastered sticky snow to hay bales and farm implements as well as to the trees and field grass:

 

 

 

 
The livestock endure and enjoy the sun as well as the attention of a photographer:

 

 

 
There’s a stark beauty to the landscape with a new snowfall blanketing it:

 

 
In these conditions, it’s hard to imagine a peloton puffing up the climb of Stage Road during the annual 2009 Tour of the Battenkill bike race.

 

 
There’s no doubt that the first snowfall of the season is magical. In the months ahead, monochrome landscapes will wear thin, and a yearning for green new growth will set in. But for now, we can marvel at the austere beauty of winter.

 

 
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