Render probably took 3-4 hrs. (didn't have the report render on, so I don't know exactly. Render quality was 64 on a 1024 pixel wide image. Snow effect is a volume mat on a sphere that encompasses the whole scene including the camera. Thanks for the kind words, all.

This is not my "second childhood". I'm not finished with the first one yet.

Time flies like an arrow; fruit flies like a banana.

"I'd like to die peacefully in my sleep like my grandfather....not screaming in terror like the passengers on his bus." - Jack Handy