It’s 5 a.m., Good Friday, and as usual I need a tiny moment to get fully awake while my baby son is already fit for the day. My first look into the new day goes out of the window. I am blown away by the view. The universe provided a big miracle, turning the still cold but upcoming spring into a snowy Easter Wonderland! Thick layers of white cover the streets, roofs, cars, sidewalks, and trees appear like having a huge sugar coating put on. Sleepiness is forgotten, and together with my son we marvel at the big white cover over all the life out there this morning. I begin taking in snow from the roof, playing with my son on the bare ground.
Suddenly, creativity hits me. I grab the empty metal egg shape that is laying on the table and fill it with snow. I take another shell doing the same. I also find two small egg shapes that I fill with snow, too. Usually, they are meant to be filled with sweets, such as chocolate. Well, this time… All of it goes into the freezer to preserve it for later. My decision for setting up an Easter Wonderland instead of the usual grass scene in which you find the eggs is firmly made. Now I just have to wait until my son’s morning break and pray that the snow won’t melt too fast.
Time has come, and I make the necessary preparations. I install the camera, lay out the material, and dress up for the cold awaiting me during the making of Easter Wonderland. In this moment I am deeply grateful to my mom, who had sent an Easter surprise package, which had arrived the previous day. She must have sensed what is going to happen. Thank you mom!
Creating starts, where I take in lots of snow from the roof, fill a tablet richly with it, and begin putting all things fitting into the scene. There are bunnies on a bench, a bunny candle, Easter decorations to hang on catkins, a chicken party, origami tulips made by my mom, some colorful eggs on sticks, and some plastic eggs covered with a nice Easter scene. Towards the end I include the snow eggs I had put in the freezer earlier that morning, decorating them with gift ribbon. Oh, what a beautiful arrangement!
Now time is running. I have to be fast, not only for the snow melting rapidly, but also my son soon going to wake up (who is now sleeping in the carrier on his fathers belly). I dive into the photo session. Then I follow my husband’s advice to take the whole setting outside onto the window sill. This is tricky, as I am so small I cannot reach the outer window sill with my hands. Quick thinking and looking around, lets me take two belts, binding them around on each side of the tablet, and finally being able to lift it outside. I anyway have to climb onto the tiny inside window sill, in order to undo the belts and take them out of the Easter Wonderland scene. A further quick photo shoot for the outside scene, and here we go with the results.
Happy Easter to all of you out there, no matter the weather!