the first sled ride of the year with a pile of my kinders.
‘neath bright blue sky
upon wide open fields of snow
with no end in sight
nothing to do
but to run and to play
on such
a fine
and lovely
winter’s day.
—
nature is an infinite sphere of which the center is everywhere
and the circumference nowhere.
– blaise pascal
when it’s too cold
for us to go out
to play with the snow
why not
just bring the snow in
to play with us?
just another
snow day
here
in
detroit
even
at
the zoo
though
for some of us
it brings
a whole
new meaning
to
down under.
—
image credit: tanya moutzalias – mlive
the first fall of snow is not only an event, it is a magical event.
you go to bed in one kind of a world and wake up
in another quite different,
and if this is not enchantment then where is it to be found?
– j.b. priestly
—–
image credit: national wildlife federation
‘Nature has no mercy at all. Nature says, I’m going to snow.
If you have on a bikini and no snowshoes,that’s tough. I am going to snow anyway.’ – Maya Angelou
how some of us are getting around this week in ann arbor
—–
image credit: susannah b.
last night i had a dream about my friend who commandeered an old, rusty, garbage truck and put a huge plow on the front. he was determined to make it to my cottage to clear the driveway, and would do whatever it took to get here, mad max armageddon style. many thanks for your loyalty, my friend, and perhaps winter has worn out it’s welcome, even in my dreams.
Winter lingered so long in the lap of Spring that it occasioned a great deal of talk. – Bill Nye
finally all back together in school this week, and the kindergarten made the most out of enjoying what mother nature had left behind for us to play with. we headed out to go sledding on a ‘hill’ that could best be described as no more than a 23-degree angle, though to see their eyes upon approaching it, it appeared to be their first encounter with the swiss alps. even so, it was a challenge to get to the top, as the snow was quite deep and their legs were quite tiny. but motivated they are, and they hiked up to the summit, over and over, jumped on sleds, headed down, and marched back up.
all except for one little guy. he stayed on the sidelines, even when invited up, and instead rolled around and ran around and laid in and laughed and ate all the snow he could handle. when it was time to leave and stomp back in, he began crying and yelling out, ‘you didn’t let me go sledding!!!!!’ his outburst was met with great understanding by my class who simultaneously burst out laughing. it was at this point perhaps, that he realized he had made his own choices, and this was not a great argument. the sobbing stopped.
There’s no fear when you’re having fun – Will Thomas
when everyone made it back inside, they warmed up, had a snack, went to music class, made puzzles, read books, ate lunch and suited up for another trip outside, this time to the playground. once out there, they saw that their familiar playground had been turned into a winter wonderland. there was fresh, fluffy, deep, white, sparkling snow everywhere, totally untouched by any other kids!
they jumped in it, rolled in it, made snow balls and snowmen and snow castles, played with ice chunks, went down the slides covered with snow, filled buckets with snow, made snow angels, snapped icicles off of their playhouse, climbed things, tried to run in the snow, and loved every minute of it. after a long time spent playing on our ‘winter beach’ we headed back inside once again. after taking off all of our layers and hanging them to dry, everyone was absolutely exhausted. it was nap time. and we had earned it.
image credit: mnh.si.edu
When you’re really having fun, you’re always doing it a little bit in a way that you’re not supposed to.
That’s when great things happen.
the beautiful wintry view from my cottage this morning
Image Credit Mike Perini / Michigan Radio
Fairy Garden Village of Ann Arbor – Cottages evacuated due to heavy snow.
the fairy village in warmer times
Someday you will be old enough to start reading fairy tales again. – c.s. lewis
I didn't have my glasses on.... 