You realise the profound power of silence when you’re snowed in for a couple days in the Helderbergs. When the thick blanket of white descends, you’re not going anywhere.

The Buddha became our quick measure of how much snow had fallen. The flakes began late in the night Sunday and continued through the day on Monday and on into Tuesday.

There was a lot of snow. So we weren’t going anywhere for a while. Sunday we laughed and talked, wondering if we’d have to part in the morning after all because the predicted snow had not materialised. But then we got up in the morning to a marshmallow world.

The quiet is quite remarkable. Mary, Amy and I spent the better part of the day reading together on the porch while the fire crackled, consuming endless cups of tea (well, maybe that was mostly me). About midday a couple of…