It's pretty, it's unexpected, it's wet, there's not much of it. The cats hate it anyway.
We wake up to a gentle cover of snow.
Oh, the possibilities that snow offers! Can we ski? Can we play? Can we stay inside and just admire the loveliness of a white landscape?
I have to say that the push-pull here is tremendous. On the one hand, a deep snow would unquestionably lure us outside to ski. We haven't done it since last winter and we're both itching to be out there gliding again. Me with my new knee! (So I better not tumble because I'm not quite sure if getting up will be as easy as it was before.) But when we step out, the snow feels too clumpy, the cover -- insufficient. So, should we go for a hike in the forest? When the warm house feels so toasty pleasant and there is all that good reading before us? And trip planning and spring plant searching?
We go. Getting out of the winter lazies is a huge challenge for us and if we indulge those lazies on a day that's actually quite pretty, well then we're doomed!
And in fact, we love the quiet of the forest on a snowy day! All of it is fabulous! Why do we always hesitate?!
But by early afternoon I have to scoot off to the Human Society. Snowdrop is having her friend birthday party there and I'm not only the photographer for the event, but, too, the ice cream cake that we purchased yesterday is in my freezer. And I'm eager to see the girl herself: she got the gift she really wanted today -- pierced ears!
There are a lot of lively third-graders at the party and it really is great to put faces to at least some of the names I hear about after a day in school. They are a solid, fun bunch. And her two brothers. Who are at once able to fit right in, and then at other times, a little on their own.
The Humane Society is a beloved place for Snowdrop -- she is your typical animal lover -- and she was thrilled that they actually offered a party venue for kids. It's a structured program where they learn about some of the animal care there, they make toys for cats, then they visit and view the pets for adoption and finally -- and perhaps this is the best part, aside from the cake -- they get to pet hamsters and rats, and hold a snake.
Fun, right?
(Sparrow passes on the holding/petting of rodents and reptiles, but Sandpiper has no reservations...)
Happy Birthday, dear Snowdrop, happy birthday to you!
Dinner at home is very late. If Ed and I felt lazy about the hike, we surely succumbed to the super lazies by evening time. Eventually I scrambled some eggs. And threw some mushrooms and asparagus into the oven. That's it. I'll get my motivation rolling again. Tomorrow. Maybe.
And there you have it! A beautiful winter Saturday. I hope you had a fine one as well!
