Weekly Photo Challenge: Gone, But Not Forgotten
Our snow is gone.
The plastic sleds left in the yard on a snowy day have melted their way down to the leaf covered ground.
But a shortage of snow is no real deterrent to little girls who are ready to play.
We are just calling the sleds “boats” until the snow flies again.
Don’t open the door!
Those smiling faces are merely the technique that snowball fiends use to gain entry into nice, dry, warm houses!
Once the flurry of snowballs and giggles are released the fiends will run back off into the snowy day, leaving you mopping up the floor until their next attack.
But the worst part is that they unleash such a blast of snowy day cheer with each volley that their giggles become contagious and the serious-stop-throwing-snow-in-the-house voice can’t seem to make an appearance because you are too busy throwing the mopped up snow back at them.
On second thought, open the door.
Every house needs a little snowy day cheer!
“Well, I guess in Michigan they have really big cats and lots of snow.” Ivy stated as we drove to meet my Uncle for an afternoon of skiing and sledding.
John and I agreed. It was undeniably true that the house cats we had seen since arriving in Michigan were huge (I think one of them is actually part mountain lion) and the snow was impressively deep.
While I’ve no photo evidence to show you that the cats were at least three times the size of ours (and part mountain lion), I did bring the camera out into the snow.
After an entire afternoon of skiing and sledding followed by a delicious dinner, we headed back out into the snow for a fire and s’mores.
Soon after Uncle Jim joined us around the fire, Ivy calmly walked over to me, tugged on my jacket and said, “Can I whisper something to you?”
“Mom, why is Uncle Jim wearing a skirt?”
In Michigan, they have really big cats, lots of snow and they take perfectly good Finnish candles, call them Scottish Cabers and then stand around them in their kilts.
Alright, to be fair to the rest of Michigan, I’m pretty sure it’s just my uncle that does that.
But we are so grateful that he keeps putting our animals back together when they break that we’ll still admit to being related.
No worries we didn’t bring any really broken animals with us this time. Just some veterinary maintenance that Clara presided over.
All in all it was a great trip, even the drive (two adults, three kids, two dogs, two cats through Chicago) wasn’t too bad.
Noisy- but not bad!
Weekly Photo Challenge: Threes
This weeks photo challenge was to use three pictures to tell a story. So, as proof that we have gotten outside to play, even in the frigid weather I give you – Driveway Sledding!
We’ve yet to find another path down the hill that works as well as the driveway for sledding – we’ve got an apple tree obstacle problem everywhere else.
These pictures were taken a few weeks ago, if the girls were playing on today I’d have to title my pictures Driveway Luge or Perhaps Driveway Skeleton. I’ve needed multiple runs to get up the driveway if I’m not in 4-wheel drive and while spreading ashes from the wood-stove on it this afternoon all I had to do was balance and shake my bucket as I slowly slid down! To say it’s a bit icy would be an understatement!
I have already irritated countless friends, relatives and strangers at the grocery store with my happiness but I just can’t stop myself. Every time I hear a complaint about the weather it just bursts out and I am compelled to announce to everyone that-
I love this winter!
It’s been cold! Real cold, the kind that makes your cheeks sting, the inside of your nose freeze and your eyelashes freeze together. We live in Wisconsin-winter should be cold.
I love it!
It’s been snowy! Every few days we get another inch or so. I would of course be happier if we got eight inches instead of one but I’m not going to complain because it’s beautiful. Waking up to snow coating the world -it’s a special winter magic.
I love it!
Which brings me to another thing I love. In the winter I can see the sun rise and not hate the entire world. Tomorrow the sun will rise at 7:20. That’s not my favorite time but I do recognize that it is a reasonable time to be awake. Sunrises are pretty when they are illuminating fresh snow and you don’t hate the world.
I love it!
Please don’t hate me for saying so but this winter – I just love it!
Ahh, country living in the winter.
Can’t you just picture it?
Waking up to peaceful, snowy mornings…
Taking in the calm beauty of fresh snow…
Watching the children play…
Heading outside to enjoy that special kind of quiet that prevails on a cold, country, winter day…
Yeah.
Me neither.
A Friday ritual. A single photo – no words – capturing a moment from the week.
A simple, special, extraordinary moment.
A moment I want to pause, savor and remember. 
“It’s snowing!” I tell my girls.
But that’s not what I want to tell them. I want to let them know that snow is sifting down from the sky as if the whole world is being sprinkled with powdered sugar.
But no child of mine is going to sit through that lengthy explanation after the word snow has been uttered.
“Look at snow now!” I tell my girls.
But what I want to say is, now it’s changed. It’s no longer sifting from the sky in tiny particles. Instead real flakes are drifting down from above, while every touch of the wind blows them this way and that in the world biggest ballet.
But that’s far to cheesy to say aloud, even if it is true.
“It’s like it’s snowing!” I say today.
But it’s not snowing. Yesterdays fluffy snow is blowing off the tree branches in showers of glitter in the sunlight. And as far as I know, even though I was covered head to toe in snow that fell on me, there is no name for that kind of snow fall.
“It’s not really snowing.” I say this afternoon.
No, it’s no longer snowing, not even from the trees. Now the snow is now tiny pellets blowing from the ground in windy bursts that sting the face. I suppose one could say it is “drifting” but he ferocity of it all it makes that seem too kind a word for it.
“It’s snowing!”what a ridiculously, inadequate phrase.
I haven’t yet managed to capture the essence of a perfect cold, still, frosty morning, but I’m working on it.
This was taken at my Grandparents farm over the Thanksgiving weekend on just such a morning. The woods were a dark, bluish, haze until the sun came out and turned everything to diamonds.
Behind the Willows 