We knew there would be some snow. But when a winter storm is predicted for the night, you never can tell what you'll find when you wake up. Would it fizzle to nothing? Would we see a snow cover at all? It's actually rare to have substantial snow here before Thanksgiving.
Ah, but this time is different. There are no rules, after all, where storms are concerned. We wake up to beautiful snow.
The crab apple trees sport a lovely layer of white stuff.
The pinwheels don't give up, despite the drifting banks of snow.
My wreath, purchased yesterday and not even properly placed yet, is already covered with it.
I stumble out to my car. Snow-covered. I use a broom to do away with most of the heavy stuff. It's not yet the sunrise hour, but it shouldn't matter -- no one will be watching the sun popping the horizon here today. If the roads are navigable, I want to go out and see this wintry landscape of ours! I'm one of those who will always be thrilled by the first big snowfall.
It'll always look beautiful to me.
I drive toward our Lake Waubesa -- always such a pretty spot...
Though of course, the water hasn't frozen yet. We've barely had a couple of nights with below freezing temperatures!
At the farmette, we've been slackers in terms of winterizing the cheepers' living quarters and so even before breakfast, we pick up the coop (with the hens inside -- no one wanted to step out into the white ground!) and move it into the barn, surrounding it on three sides with straw bales. The cheepers seem relieved. We restock their food supply and clear a path for them, though to our knowledge, they never leave the coop today.
As I walk back to the farmhouse to fix breakfast, I pause to admire the now quite different view.
It's beautifully warm inside, but I've been running around as if it were autumn out there. Hot shower first!
And now for a good breakfast.
And then it strikes me that Snowdrop should have a sled and she should have it soon, because if our last Wisconsin winter were to be any marker of our snowfalls, we may not have many weeks where she can enjoy it.
I study toddler sleds on Amazon. Ed is shaking his head. Why buy new, when some good soul wants to get rid of the old? We turn to Craigs list and sure enough a dad wants to offload the sled his son never grew to love. One time I took him out in it and it flipped and he never would go in it again!
It's perfect. Just Snowdrop's size (the sled is for a toddler, but she is a very big girl). Snowdrop's mommy suggests the two of us take her out in it in the late afternoon and I'm thrilled to tag along!
But first, Ed and I have a ski date. Oh, how I love these quick spins on the trails just up the road from us!
This time, it's as if fall and winter were put in a blender and after a few robust turns, out came this day. The wind is brisk and the temperatures remain below freezing, but it's thrilling to be out on skis again.
The skies are blue now, but not for long: the sun is sinking and the shadows grow long.
Oh, but it's so good to be skiing again!
And then I hastily drop Ed off at the farmhouse and drive over to Snowdrop's home. Her mommy has purchased some warm shoes for the girl. She tries them on. Perfect fit!
On goes the snowsuit. Typically she is not thrilled to be dressed for the cold outdoors, but she is patient this time. Maybe she knows that a first snowfall is special?
We take two sleds -- her mom has an adult toboggan and of course, I have this child's sled. We put her in it and her mom pulls her along (I pull the toboggan). The light is so beautiful now!
Snowdrop's mom is enthusiastic about the outing and this makes all the difference to the little girl. She even occasionally cracks a smile!
We're at the top of the small hill. The views are tremendous! (Though it looks like you could go straight into the lake from here. Rest assured -- you cannot.)
Her mom tests the run herself first. Good. Nice and slow. I pick up the girl from her sweet wee sled...
... and put her in the lap of her mom. Down they go. And one more time!
I can't say they flew with Olympic speed. And an attempt to show Snowdrop how to do a snow angel is less successful. Still, without a doubt it was a beautiful outing. For all of us.
I drive home so deeply satisfied.
Pausing to admire the last of a sunset...
... and of course the moon, rising so beautifully just to the east of us.
Ah, but this time is different. There are no rules, after all, where storms are concerned. We wake up to beautiful snow.
The crab apple trees sport a lovely layer of white stuff.
The pinwheels don't give up, despite the drifting banks of snow.
My wreath, purchased yesterday and not even properly placed yet, is already covered with it.
I stumble out to my car. Snow-covered. I use a broom to do away with most of the heavy stuff. It's not yet the sunrise hour, but it shouldn't matter -- no one will be watching the sun popping the horizon here today. If the roads are navigable, I want to go out and see this wintry landscape of ours! I'm one of those who will always be thrilled by the first big snowfall.
It'll always look beautiful to me.
I drive toward our Lake Waubesa -- always such a pretty spot...
Though of course, the water hasn't frozen yet. We've barely had a couple of nights with below freezing temperatures!
At the farmette, we've been slackers in terms of winterizing the cheepers' living quarters and so even before breakfast, we pick up the coop (with the hens inside -- no one wanted to step out into the white ground!) and move it into the barn, surrounding it on three sides with straw bales. The cheepers seem relieved. We restock their food supply and clear a path for them, though to our knowledge, they never leave the coop today.
As I walk back to the farmhouse to fix breakfast, I pause to admire the now quite different view.
It's beautifully warm inside, but I've been running around as if it were autumn out there. Hot shower first!
And now for a good breakfast.
And then it strikes me that Snowdrop should have a sled and she should have it soon, because if our last Wisconsin winter were to be any marker of our snowfalls, we may not have many weeks where she can enjoy it.
I study toddler sleds on Amazon. Ed is shaking his head. Why buy new, when some good soul wants to get rid of the old? We turn to Craigs list and sure enough a dad wants to offload the sled his son never grew to love. One time I took him out in it and it flipped and he never would go in it again!
It's perfect. Just Snowdrop's size (the sled is for a toddler, but she is a very big girl). Snowdrop's mommy suggests the two of us take her out in it in the late afternoon and I'm thrilled to tag along!
But first, Ed and I have a ski date. Oh, how I love these quick spins on the trails just up the road from us!
This time, it's as if fall and winter were put in a blender and after a few robust turns, out came this day. The wind is brisk and the temperatures remain below freezing, but it's thrilling to be out on skis again.
The skies are blue now, but not for long: the sun is sinking and the shadows grow long.
Oh, but it's so good to be skiing again!
And then I hastily drop Ed off at the farmhouse and drive over to Snowdrop's home. Her mommy has purchased some warm shoes for the girl. She tries them on. Perfect fit!
On goes the snowsuit. Typically she is not thrilled to be dressed for the cold outdoors, but she is patient this time. Maybe she knows that a first snowfall is special?
We take two sleds -- her mom has an adult toboggan and of course, I have this child's sled. We put her in it and her mom pulls her along (I pull the toboggan). The light is so beautiful now!
Snowdrop's mom is enthusiastic about the outing and this makes all the difference to the little girl. She even occasionally cracks a smile!
We're at the top of the small hill. The views are tremendous! (Though it looks like you could go straight into the lake from here. Rest assured -- you cannot.)
Her mom tests the run herself first. Good. Nice and slow. I pick up the girl from her sweet wee sled...
... and put her in the lap of her mom. Down they go. And one more time!
I can't say they flew with Olympic speed. And an attempt to show Snowdrop how to do a snow angel is less successful. Still, without a doubt it was a beautiful outing. For all of us.
I drive home so deeply satisfied.
Pausing to admire the last of a sunset...
... and of course the moon, rising so beautifully just to the east of us.
Such a day full of firsts with that glorious snowfall. I too love the first snows. Thanks for sharing all its wonders.
ReplyDeleteYou seem to have enjoyed a perfect day! So many firsts and so many beautiful photos. The sight of a little one, looking so bewildered in their first snowsuit always makes me smile. That gray on gray photo of the treelike and house?/barn? is lovely. Your last photo of the moonrise and pink clouds is stunning.
ReplyDeleteSo beautiful! My kids were mighty disappointed that we didn't get any snow. I'm sure it's coming.
ReplyDeleteAdded: since Ed is good at finding things used, do either of you have recommendations on getting cross country ski gear for adults/kids at reasonable prices? Ski swaps haven't panned out for us *yet*.
ReplyDeleteThis is a tough one, because you really do not want to use poorly fitted equipment. With my kids, I actually gave them cross country skis one Christmas, there was almost no snow and they outgrew the stuff by next year. To make matters worse, Craigs list offers almost no choice. Ed actually checked Appleton and came up pretty empty.
DeleteHere's what we did for ourselves and maybe you'd consider that for the kids too: for the first winter or two, we rented weekend packages. Both Fontana and REI had great deals (since I belong to REI, the rates were better for me there). But it was a pain to go Friday to pick them up and return it all Sunday. After half a dozen times, we decided we liked skiing together enough to invest. Just wait for a sale -- we got terrific deals at REI and for adults, once you purchase, you're set for life!
For kids, you can keep checking Craigs and it's worth buying used if you can get the boards there because the skis can be passed down through your three sons. But shoes are going to be a problem. There's a reason why you dont see many kids on cross country trails in this state! Feet grow, snow conditions vary each year. You have to be pretty sure you're going to use the stuff heavily to make it worthwhile.
One other possibility: in Wausau, they have an excellent set of trails called Nine Mile as I recall. I think they do cross country rentals there on the spot. And they are just north enough that they have good skiing late into the season. You might want to do that one day...
First snow... wonderful! Not here yet but I'm sure we'll see it soon.. Tenth snow... not so wonderful. Glimpsing Snowdrop's first snow... more than wonderful! She learn to make snow angels soon enough! And look for cheeper tracks... and make a little snowman... and ... ... ...
ReplyDeleteIt's funny -- I, too, think of it as her first snow, even though she lived through a whole winter already and I took her for baby winter walks when there was at least a little of the white stuff on the ground. Still, I think of that period as a blur of color and impression. Now, she recognizes snow. And sleds! Snow angels -- not so much.
DeleteYour beautiful photos, although they came before I was in the mood :) prepared me for the snow flurries here today. It's been too warm to cover the ground, but how I loved the sweep of clouds and sudden squalls.
ReplyDeleteHeading to the market, I saw many faces that looked like "forbearance". People are thinking, oh, we still are enjoying fall. The pumpkins and mums are still out to welcome Thanksgiving guests, nothing has been frostbitten yet.
BUT THEN I saw a Dad come out of the market holding his little toddler girl; he gestured up at the snowy sky, catching flying snowflakes for her to see, and it was beautiful. I liked the way he was quiet, gentle about it: a way to communicate beauty and wonder.