thoughts on the shoveling of snow

Biologist J.B.S. Haldane either did or didn't say, of what we can know about God,

If one could conclude as to the nature of the Creator, if He exists, from a study of creation, it would appear that God has an inordinate fondness for stars and beetles.

This "quote" (if it is one) came to mind today as I was shoveling about eight inches of snow off the driveway and The Excellent Wife (TEW)'s car, and then shoveling out my car from where it had been plowed in. Because it strikes me that if one wanted to draw a conclusion about the Creator, if one exists, from a study of creation, it would appear that God is very interested in beauty; it seems to be all around us, on all manner of scales of size and time. But I see no evidence in the least that God cares at all about such things as safety, comfort, or convenience. We humans may be interested in such things... but, at every opportunity, nature sets her legions to disrupt and destroy them.

I'm tired, I ache. The snow is inconvenient (at best) and dangerous (mostly). It is already starting to go, and I am grateful; I have had enough.

(Two other things: first, I'm sure some will think I'm out of line with the tenor of this post, as I make no secret of the fact that I'm an atheist.  Second, I am enamored of the good Dr. Haldane for a quote that is reliably his:

I have no doubt that in reality the future will be vastly more surprising than anything I can imagine. Now my own suspicion is that the Universe is not only queerer than we suppose, but queerer than we can suppose.

It's from Possible Worlds and Other Papers [1927], p. 286)