Tuesday, February 13, 2007

Snowed Out


They canceled school today. We stayed home. My children took turns looking out the windows at our back gate, watching the snow drift higher and higher.

"We can't get out that way," pointed out my eldest. Then a few hours later she went out to play in the yard and discovered the wind had hollowed out an area just inside the gate. It left enough room for her to squeeze out the gate into the field. Once she squeezed out she squeezed quickly back in, as if worried she might get trapped on the wrong side.

She and her sister had fun ducking behind the mound of snow - their little hideaway. I imagine it must have been cozy; protected from the wind.

When I was a kid we had a big snowfall one year. Or maybe it was a bunch of big snowfalls. I remember my mother cut a path into our back yard and when she finished the piles of snow were above her head on either side. Along the driveway the piles were massive (to my young eyes). Suddenly the terrain in our yard in the Land of Flat held some interest. My sisters and I dug tunnels and caves and trudged paths up hills and smoothed slides down them. We led expeditions of our friends through the yard, naming the moutainous peaks, pointing out special valleys.

Every winter after that paled by comparison. If there weren't mountains of snow to explore, then it was a bore.

I pictured that winter as I watched my children trudge and duck, exploring our snowy yard. Bring on the snowstorms! Pile up the snow! I want to explore!

10 musings:

L.L. Barkat said...

That is a truly beautiful photo. If my daughter had a back yard like that, she'd be preventing everyone from walking in it. She likes the pristine look of things. (sleigh riding is a little challenging with this kind of standard!)

Anonymous said...

I wish you could see my front lawn! It has a pile above my head. I don't know how the boys got it so high. They started it with the first snowfall from last week. Well, this most recent snow only added to it, now it is not only high but wide. Yesterday they dug holes and tunnels through it and are having a blast! You can come play if you want, I'm sure they won't mind! I will try to post a picture. Of course it will not be as pretty as yours!

Anonymous said...

I'm on the computer now after a break shoveling my own snow. It's lost a little of the mystique now that it's on the "to-do" list, but snow does make everything magical.

Llama Momma said...

I'm with you, Charity. It's beautiful and fun, but a lot of work to shovel!!

Lara said...

LL-I like pristine snow too. My husband grilled the night before and I chided him for dirtying the snow with ashes. The good part of that was that I didn't care when the kids when tromping through the yard the next day.

For now-we had a snowball fight yesterday that didn't last long because the snow was too fluffy. I'm impressed that your boys are able to dig tunnels - in our yard they'd collapse pretty quickly.

Charity-that's when you promise yourself a big cup of hot chocolate for getting it done. I find it tastes even better after being out in the cold.

Llama Momma- they sell kid sized shovels. My girls love to shovel and I figure every bit helps.

Llama Momma said...

Yeah, we've got those shovels. The noisy boys love it, but I hate being out there shoveling during precious naptime...and baby's too little to be out in the cold.

Does that sound negative or what? I'm actually glad we got some real snow. I was worried the winter would go by without any good snowmen or sledding!

L.L. Barkat said...

He WHAT? GRILLED? (does the man not know what season this is?)

Craver Vii said...

Sure! Grilling in the winter is great! Mrs. Craver and I especially relish the idea of freaking the neighbors out when those delightful aromas waft their way through the yards.

Kudos to your Mr. for grilling in the cold. I think we're up next.

WilyHacker said...

I like grilling all year round. The charcoal actually gets hotter faster with a good winter wind than a calm summer day. The hardest part about grilling in the winter isn't the cold, but the lack of daylight hours.

Lara said...

LL-yes, he grilled (using charcoal). He usually does it once or twice in the winter.

Craver-with the wind blowing toward the neighbors' house, Musing Dad actually commented that they would probably be freaked out by the scent when they let their dogs out. No one rang our bell, but I wonder if they're hoping for Spring to come sooner now.