Snow, snow, go away
Snow, snow, go away
By Allan Olson
My grand plans for making headway on cleaning up my yard were dashed Saturday morning when I woke to find not merely a trace of snow but rather several inches of that wet, heavy white stuff that just refuses to relinquish its hold on us this year.
Friday evening, while cold and damp, I managed to find time to dispose of some unwanted yard refuse by working until dusk and beyond. The work wasn’t easy, as it was still frozen to the ground, but it was unsightly and it needed to be gone. I finally wrapped things up just as the first flakes of snow were starting to sting my face with its cold. I went in search of some warmth.
Back to Saturday. Like I said, I was unimpressed with the snow entirely. I had no desire to see it. I wanted the kids to be outside, enjoying the spring air in their tennis shoes as opposed to winter boots and snowsuits.
Maybe I was delusional, but I really thought (hoped?) that we were done with winter. I had my snowsuit put away in a spare closet, and the majority of the kids’ stuff packed away, with a few stray items remaining scattered about.
Last weekend we also had a full house, with three cousins visiting. Thankfully, the youngest is identical in age to my oldest, and they were great at entertaining the younger ones.
The morning went by rather quickly, and my three youngest were excited participants in the Cass Lake Chamber of Commerce Easter Egg Hunt. Once we were back home again, they were restless (likely due to the candy intake from said hunt). Marcus in particular wanted to play outside. I informed him that if they were going outside, he and Abigail had to get their stuff on, and I told them where to look. With little assistance, Marcus and Abigail were both ready to go. Less than five minutes later they were back upstairs with their winter clothes off. They both decided they didn’t want to go out, and then about an hour later (or less) they changed their minds again.
Soon they were building a snowman, and after watching them for a bit I couldn’t resist going outside myself, and so went to find my stuff for playing in the snow. Before I could get out to help, the two oldest boys had destroyed their creation. “Because it was fun,” was their reasoning. However, they were game to make a new one once I volunteered to help. Another snowman was built, and it was determined by Abigail that it “needs hair because it’s a girl.” So, using grass, I gave it hair, charcoal became the eyes, olives formed the nose and mouth line, and of course sticks for the arms. “It’s kinda creepy,” Abigail said.
Saturday night, I started baking caramel rolls. At least, I mostly supervised and instructed my 13-year-old niece on the process, and she then allowed the youngest three to help her. By her own admission, she felt like she was in the way, since they knew how to make them better than she did.
On Sunday, the kids made another “snowman/woman,” this one not as creepy.
Let’s hope it’s the last for a while.
By Allan Olson
My grand plans for making headway on cleaning up my yard were dashed Saturday morning when I woke to find not merely a trace of snow but rather several inches of that wet, heavy white stuff that just refuses to relinquish its hold on us this year.
Friday evening, while cold and damp, I managed to find time to dispose of some unwanted yard refuse by working until dusk and beyond. The work wasn’t easy, as it was still frozen to the ground, but it was unsightly and it needed to be gone. I finally wrapped things up just as the first flakes of snow were starting to sting my face with its cold. I went in search of some warmth.
Back to Saturday. Like I said, I was unimpressed with the snow entirely. I had no desire to see it. I wanted the kids to be outside, enjoying the spring air in their tennis shoes as opposed to winter boots and snowsuits.
Maybe I was delusional, but I really thought (hoped?) that we were done with winter. I had my snowsuit put away in a spare closet, and the majority of the kids’ stuff packed away, with a few stray items remaining scattered about.
Last weekend we also had a full house, with three cousins visiting. Thankfully, the youngest is identical in age to my oldest, and they were great at entertaining the younger ones.
The morning went by rather quickly, and my three youngest were excited participants in the Cass Lake Chamber of Commerce Easter Egg Hunt. Once we were back home again, they were restless (likely due to the candy intake from said hunt). Marcus in particular wanted to play outside. I informed him that if they were going outside, he and Abigail had to get their stuff on, and I told them where to look. With little assistance, Marcus and Abigail were both ready to go. Less than five minutes later they were back upstairs with their winter clothes off. They both decided they didn’t want to go out, and then about an hour later (or less) they changed their minds again.
Soon they were building a snowman, and after watching them for a bit I couldn’t resist going outside myself, and so went to find my stuff for playing in the snow. Before I could get out to help, the two oldest boys had destroyed their creation. “Because it was fun,” was their reasoning. However, they were game to make a new one once I volunteered to help. Another snowman was built, and it was determined by Abigail that it “needs hair because it’s a girl.” So, using grass, I gave it hair, charcoal became the eyes, olives formed the nose and mouth line, and of course sticks for the arms. “It’s kinda creepy,” Abigail said.
Saturday night, I started baking caramel rolls. At least, I mostly supervised and instructed my 13-year-old niece on the process, and she then allowed the youngest three to help her. By her own admission, she felt like she was in the way, since they knew how to make them better than she did.
On Sunday, the kids made another “snowman/woman,” this one not as creepy.
Let’s hope it’s the last for a while.
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