For those who desire a layer of snow with their holiday season it's been mainly green and brown so far this year in the Boston area. Since the start of December, here are some places that have already had the chance to experience the beauty and sometimes annoyance of a winter wonderland. -- Lloyd Young
A train of the Brocken Railway steams through a winter landscape with snow covered pine trees as it approaches its destination on the Brocken mountain in the Harz mountainous region of Germany on Dec 8. (Stefan Rampfel/European Pressphoto Agency)
2A dog, covered with hoarfrost and snow, looks on during a snowfall outside Russia's Siberian city of Krasnoyarsk. (Ilya Naymushin/Reuters) #
3Davide Simoncelli of Italy descends the course on the first run en route to third place in the men's Giant Slalom at the Audi FIS World Cup on Dec. 2 in Beaver Creek, Colorado. (Doug Pensinger/Getty Images) #
4Children ride sleds down a hill as the first snowfall of the season hits Brussels, Belgium on Dec. 2. (Francois Lenoir/Reuters) #
5Saint Basil's Cathedral is seen peeping over snowdrifts at Red Square in Moscow, Russia, on Dec. 4. Heavy snowfall reportedly caused traffic jams and disruption to air travel. (Sergei Ilitsky/European Pressphoto Agency) #
6The sun shines behind the weather station and snow covered trees on the Fichtelberg mountain, in Oberwiesenthal, south eastern Germany, on Dec. 8. Parts of eastern and central Europe were hit hard by heavy snow and freezing temperatures. (Uwe Meinhold/Associated Press) #
7A man clears snow in Ilmenau, central Germany, on Dec. 11. (Michael Reichel/European Pressphoto Agency) #
8A car drives after a heavy snowfall on Dec. 9 in Liebenau, eastern Germany. (Arno Burgi/AFP/Getty Images) #
9A local walks with his ponies during the season’s first snowfall in the northern hilltown of Shimla, India on, Dec. 11. (AFP/Getty Images) #
10A boy rides his bicycle in a park as the first snow fall covers Sofia, Bulgaria, on Dec. 3. (Dimitar Dilkoff/AFP/Getty Images) #
11A woman clears snow from a car in the Austrian province of Salzburg on Dec. 10. The weather forecast predicts continuing snowfall for the next few days. (Kerstin Joensson/Associated Press) #
12Airplanes on the tarmac at Schiphol airport in Amsterdam on Dec. 7. (Ruud Taal/European Pressphoto Agency) #
13A man rides a horse-drawn cart during heavy snow fall near the village of Petravinka, Belarus, on Dec. 5. (Vasily Fedosenko/Reuters) #
14People jog in the snow in Aarhus, Denmark, on Dec. 9. (Dago/Polfoto, via Associated Press #
15Lenin's statue is covered with snow during heavy snowfall over Kiev on Dec. 11. (Sergei Supinsky/AFP/Getty Images) #
16A boy holding a snowball runs over a street as snow falls on Dec. 1 in Berlin. (Hannibal Hanschke/AFP/Getty Images) #
17A man walks at a park during a snowfall in downtown Sofia, Bulgaria, on Dec. 11. (Stoyan Nenov/Reuters) #
18A child walks in a park after heavy snowfall in Kiev, Ukraine, on Dec. 11. (Anatolii Stepanov/Reuters) #
19Snow covers roses in Duesseldorf, Germany, on Dec. 7. ( Martin Gerten/European Pressphoto Agency) #
20A man films with a tablet device after heavy snowfall in Kiev. (Anatolii Stepanov/Reuters) #
21A North Korean man scrapes off snow from the monument of anti-Japanese revolutionary fighters on Mansu Hill in Pyongyang, North Korea, on Dec. 10. (Kyodo News/Associated Press) #
22A man rides his bicycle holding an umbrella as light snow covers the roads in Amsterdam on Dec. 7. Temperatures have dropped below freezing and more snow is expected to fall during the day, but the Dutch ride their favorite means of transport come rain or snow. (Peter Dejong/Associated Press) #
23A recovery worker tries to retrieve car lying in a dyke on the side of the road after skidding off due to ice and snow on the roads near Zurich, in the direction of Bolsward, the Netherlands, on Dec. 6. (Catrinus Van Der Veen/European Pressphoto Agency) #
24A couple walk under an umbrella during a heavy snowfall in Pristina, Kosovo, on Dec. 5. (Arment Nimani/AFP/Getty Images) #
25Fans wait in the snow before the NFL football game between the Green Bay Packers and the Detroit Lions in Green Bay, Wisconsin, on Dec. 9. (Darren Hauck/Reuters) #
26A young polar bear wallows in snow at the public zoo in St Petersburg, Russia, on Dec. 7. (Olga Maltseva/AFP/Getty Images) #
27A snowboarder takes a jump at the Erbeskopf near Deuselbach, western Germany, on Dec. 9. The highest point in the state of Rhineland-Palatinate has opened for the 2012/2013 winter season. (Thomas Frey/AFP/Getty Images) #
28People struggle against wind and drifting snow in Stockholm, Sweden, on Dec. 5. (Andres Wiklund/AFP/Getty Images) #
29Workers clean a model replica of Cheops Pyramid of Giza, after snowfall in landscape park Miniwelt (Miniworld), in Lichtenstein, eastern Germany, on Dec. 7. The cultural park Miniworld presents about 100 original and true-to detail buildings and technical facilities at a 1:25 scale. (Jens Meyer/Associated Press) #
30People ski off piste at Val d'Isere, in the French Alps, on Dec. 11. Recent snowfalls have encouraged skiers to hit the slopes and the Val d'Isere authorities have opened certain slopes early. (Philippe Desmazes/AFP/Getty Images) #
31A runner dressed as Father Christmas runs in heavy snow during the 'Nikolaus Run' in the East German town of Michendorf on Dec. 9. Around 800 participants took part in the Santa Claus running competition that is hosted by the Laufclub Michendorf running association. (Wolfgang Rattay/Reuters) #
32Two girls play in the snow on the bank of an island in the middle of the Yenisei River, where the air temperature reached minus 22 degrees Celsius (minus 7.6 degrees Fahrenheit), in Russia's Siberian city of Krasnoyarsk on Dec. 6. (Ilya Naymushin/Reuters) #
A train of the Brocken Railway steams through a winter landscape with snow covered pine trees as it approaches its destination on the Brocken mountain in the Harz mountainous region of Germany on Dec 8. (Stefan Rampfel/European Pressphoto Agency)
2A dog, covered with hoarfrost and snow, looks on during a snowfall outside Russia's Siberian city of Krasnoyarsk. (Ilya Naymushin/Reuters) #
3Davide Simoncelli of Italy descends the course on the first run en route to third place in the men's Giant Slalom at the Audi FIS World Cup on Dec. 2 in Beaver Creek, Colorado. (Doug Pensinger/Getty Images) #
4Children ride sleds down a hill as the first snowfall of the season hits Brussels, Belgium on Dec. 2. (Francois Lenoir/Reuters) #
5Saint Basil's Cathedral is seen peeping over snowdrifts at Red Square in Moscow, Russia, on Dec. 4. Heavy snowfall reportedly caused traffic jams and disruption to air travel. (Sergei Ilitsky/European Pressphoto Agency) #
6The sun shines behind the weather station and snow covered trees on the Fichtelberg mountain, in Oberwiesenthal, south eastern Germany, on Dec. 8. Parts of eastern and central Europe were hit hard by heavy snow and freezing temperatures. (Uwe Meinhold/Associated Press) #
7A man clears snow in Ilmenau, central Germany, on Dec. 11. (Michael Reichel/European Pressphoto Agency) #
8A car drives after a heavy snowfall on Dec. 9 in Liebenau, eastern Germany. (Arno Burgi/AFP/Getty Images) #
9A local walks with his ponies during the season’s first snowfall in the northern hilltown of Shimla, India on, Dec. 11. (AFP/Getty Images) #
10A boy rides his bicycle in a park as the first snow fall covers Sofia, Bulgaria, on Dec. 3. (Dimitar Dilkoff/AFP/Getty Images) #
11A woman clears snow from a car in the Austrian province of Salzburg on Dec. 10. The weather forecast predicts continuing snowfall for the next few days. (Kerstin Joensson/Associated Press) #
12Airplanes on the tarmac at Schiphol airport in Amsterdam on Dec. 7. (Ruud Taal/European Pressphoto Agency) #
13A man rides a horse-drawn cart during heavy snow fall near the village of Petravinka, Belarus, on Dec. 5. (Vasily Fedosenko/Reuters) #
14People jog in the snow in Aarhus, Denmark, on Dec. 9. (Dago/Polfoto, via Associated Press #
15Lenin's statue is covered with snow during heavy snowfall over Kiev on Dec. 11. (Sergei Supinsky/AFP/Getty Images) #
16A boy holding a snowball runs over a street as snow falls on Dec. 1 in Berlin. (Hannibal Hanschke/AFP/Getty Images) #
17A man walks at a park during a snowfall in downtown Sofia, Bulgaria, on Dec. 11. (Stoyan Nenov/Reuters) #
18A child walks in a park after heavy snowfall in Kiev, Ukraine, on Dec. 11. (Anatolii Stepanov/Reuters) #
19Snow covers roses in Duesseldorf, Germany, on Dec. 7. ( Martin Gerten/European Pressphoto Agency) #
20A man films with a tablet device after heavy snowfall in Kiev. (Anatolii Stepanov/Reuters) #
21A North Korean man scrapes off snow from the monument of anti-Japanese revolutionary fighters on Mansu Hill in Pyongyang, North Korea, on Dec. 10. (Kyodo News/Associated Press) #
22A man rides his bicycle holding an umbrella as light snow covers the roads in Amsterdam on Dec. 7. Temperatures have dropped below freezing and more snow is expected to fall during the day, but the Dutch ride their favorite means of transport come rain or snow. (Peter Dejong/Associated Press) #
23A recovery worker tries to retrieve car lying in a dyke on the side of the road after skidding off due to ice and snow on the roads near Zurich, in the direction of Bolsward, the Netherlands, on Dec. 6. (Catrinus Van Der Veen/European Pressphoto Agency) #
24A couple walk under an umbrella during a heavy snowfall in Pristina, Kosovo, on Dec. 5. (Arment Nimani/AFP/Getty Images) #
25Fans wait in the snow before the NFL football game between the Green Bay Packers and the Detroit Lions in Green Bay, Wisconsin, on Dec. 9. (Darren Hauck/Reuters) #
26A young polar bear wallows in snow at the public zoo in St Petersburg, Russia, on Dec. 7. (Olga Maltseva/AFP/Getty Images) #
27A snowboarder takes a jump at the Erbeskopf near Deuselbach, western Germany, on Dec. 9. The highest point in the state of Rhineland-Palatinate has opened for the 2012/2013 winter season. (Thomas Frey/AFP/Getty Images) #
28People struggle against wind and drifting snow in Stockholm, Sweden, on Dec. 5. (Andres Wiklund/AFP/Getty Images) #
29Workers clean a model replica of Cheops Pyramid of Giza, after snowfall in landscape park Miniwelt (Miniworld), in Lichtenstein, eastern Germany, on Dec. 7. The cultural park Miniworld presents about 100 original and true-to detail buildings and technical facilities at a 1:25 scale. (Jens Meyer/Associated Press) #
30People ski off piste at Val d'Isere, in the French Alps, on Dec. 11. Recent snowfalls have encouraged skiers to hit the slopes and the Val d'Isere authorities have opened certain slopes early. (Philippe Desmazes/AFP/Getty Images) #
31A runner dressed as Father Christmas runs in heavy snow during the 'Nikolaus Run' in the East German town of Michendorf on Dec. 9. Around 800 participants took part in the Santa Claus running competition that is hosted by the Laufclub Michendorf running association. (Wolfgang Rattay/Reuters) #
32Two girls play in the snow on the bank of an island in the middle of the Yenisei River, where the air temperature reached minus 22 degrees Celsius (minus 7.6 degrees Fahrenheit), in Russia's Siberian city of Krasnoyarsk on Dec. 6. (Ilya Naymushin/Reuters) #
