Winter Wonderland

I'm sure it's hard for some people to imagine excitement over snow. But just like sunny days are appreciated all the more where there is most often rain, and cool, breezy days are basked in where it is frequently hot and humid, here where there is seldom snow...it's something special. I've spent my entire life in the land of infrequent snow, and while I've seen a fair amount of real snow in travels there's still something magic about drifts of snow in your own (southern) backyard!

It snowed right into the night last night and at 1:30 in the morning as we stood wrapped in blankets on the front patio, "the moon on the breast of the new fallen snow gave a luster of midday..." (really, it was remarkably bright) and the whole neighborhood was soft and white. I told Frazier if he were older we'd play in it...right then and there. In the middle of the night in the moonlight. But he wasn't and we didn't. When we woke up it was even deeper than it had been when we fell asleep and even more lovely in the daylight.

It had been so warm previously that I had buds on some of my plants already.Gatsby tracks



You can tell by the table how much accumulated after I'd already scraped it clean to build my mini snowman!

The beauty of living somewhere snow is scarce is that everyone appreciates it- makes the most of it. You get phone calls..."Is it snowing at your house?" And everyone marvels and hopes that it sticks. This morning there were snowmen in every yard...and in front of several businesses where people who had to work today had still gone out to enjoy the snow. Kids and parents in our neighborhood, all homebound, were out in their front yards and the street playing and yelling. We went to the courthouse to pick up Frazier's birth certificate this afternoon (because we're trying to get his passport stuff in order) and I sat in the car watching people. Several stopped on their way out to scrape snow from the bushes, pack it into a ball, and toss it at their companions. One couple, who originally walked out all businesslike with papers in hand ended up running to their car zigzagging across the courthouse lawn throwing snowballs.


I was out at 7am bundled up, playing in the snow. I got out early for two reasons 1) I wanted to get out before it warmed up enough to start melting the snow and 2) I had to get any real snow playing done before Frazier woke up. I ran around making footprints, and taking pictures and then made some snowballs and finally ended up with a whole family of snow people.

And now I interrupt this story to tell you another one:
Once Upon An Igloo
I'm not sure whose idea it originally was to build an igloo. Most likely it was my Dad's. But I also recall that for many years of my childhood it was my goal to build one. Only an igloo takes a lot of snow. Lots of snow, however, was something we did not have.

This is attempt #1...not enough snow...also we may have lacked some know-how.

Finally, one winter in Arkansas we had a really fabulous snow. And we literally built an igloo. Then we slept in it. Sort of. And by sort of I mean we really did set up camp and fell asleep in there, but I'm not sure we made it all night long.
Impressive, no?
The three of us inside it.

Now I told that story to say that what I really wanted to do this morning was build an igloo. But Josh wasn't here to help and I remembered that it took me, my Dad, and Ross a really long time to build the first one. And I was pretty sure Dad was crucial to our success, so I scrapped the idea for today and went with the snow people.


When Josh came home around lunchtime we all went back out and though I offered to build something with him if he wanted to, we ended up just repairing his snowman (who had fallen over by then) and throwing some snowballs...but I feel we adequately enjoyed the snow.

It's still sad that it's melting, though.

The down side of living somewhere that snow is so scarce it's reveled in? When it does actually snow...we're really ill prepared. Case in point: we had no electricity for about 12 hours. And yes, it got really cold...but it could have been worse. And thus the snow reminded us to be grateful for something else...heat!

Warmly,