Snow Day

The first big winter storm of the season rolled through mid-MO yesterday and dropped a good six inches of snow over the last 24 hours. O joy and wonder! Our yard is transformed into a winter playground. Best of all, school is closed for a snow day! It doesn't take much snow to close a rural school district, I've learned, just a few inches is enough to make the superintendent nervous about running the buses on all those gravel back roads. (In town, the university is still open, of course, so sadly Mom had to go to work shortly after this backyard frolicking.)

We made some snow angels in the shallow little bank at the back of the yard. The kids wanted to build a snowman, but the snow is extremely dry and powdery; a skier would love it but it's not worth a darn for making snowmen. They'll have to wait a couple days for the fluffy snow to get a little melty & heavy before they can attempt the Great Snowman Project of 2005.

Likewise, the snow was too powdery to pack together a good snowball; the kids worked out that the best technique was to scoop up a big handful of snow & fling it at one's victim at short range. Of course, this didn't hurt one bit & everyone ended up covered head-to-toe in powder.

It really was a perfect early-winter storm, just enough snow to play in but not so much that it's a hassle to drive around & do everyday things. Judging by the forecast, it will probably hang around for a week or two before it completely melts away & we go back to cold-and-dry. For now, we're all enjoying it immensely.