Winter Farewell

Despite our mid-March 15-inch snow storm last week winter is coming to a close--even up north. Lisa was determined to make a snowman and I was sure the spring snow would be the good, heavy, packing kind. Sadly for her, thankfully for the shovelers, it was not. Undeterred, Lisa piled the snow and made a mounded snowman anyway!

The bright, warm days have sent this snowman back to where all good snowmen go. Poor fellow knows the end is near.

Now we have Troy and Shane in the gym practicing with the baseball team, and the next three signed up for their summer seasons. So, as a farewell to winter I am posting some of my favorite winter photos from the past 2 months.


In early February we headed to Michigan Tech to see the ice scuptures. Here's our tour group, complete with Ariadna of Bolivia getting in on some northern culture.

We enjoy the sculptures as well as the opportunity to see Chet and Priscilla

Maybe if our toilet was this big Gabe would show a little more interest

This year's theme centered around anything to do with books


The Narnia Beaver--my favorite of the day


After taking in the sculptures we drove to a park on Lake Superior so Ariadna could see the largest of our Great Lakes. It proved to be an experience that everyone enjoyed. The lake was frozen in great mounds and drifts, looking as if it had frozen in waves. Just weeks later we read the book Shipwrecked at the Bottom of the World, the story of Earnest Shackleton. He and his crew spent over a year trapped in ice in the Antarctic. We had a better understanding of their conditions because of our trek out onto the Lake Superior ice. It would have been hard to imagine lake ice not being relatively flat had we not been there to see it for ourselves.

Still not too big for a ride on 'Nina'

Who wants to play on a frozen lake when there are swings!?

FINALLY, we didn't just drive by the park! Gabe thinks parks should be a year-round activity. Maybe he's right.

There were spots on the lake that were blown clear of snow. The ice was perfectly smooth and clear. Lisa is getting ready for a push across the clearing.

Gabe finally decided he wanted to get in on some slipping and sliding on the ice


Here is the scene in our driveway following the 15-inch snowfall. Depending on one's perspective they could have said we got "A dusting" or "4 feet".

This was the view when we walked out our back door. Troy is digging away trying to clear an opening big enough for the van to get out. We didn't see a need to completely remove the pile since the temperatures are supposed to reach 50 in a week. You can see the bare spot in the foreground--"blowing and drifting" is amazing.

Lisa found a bare spot between the driveway pile and the walkway where Owen was shoveling. I think everyone wondered why the drifts couldn't have piled up in the yard and not on drive and walkways.

Owen did his best to open a narrow (emphasis on narrow) path to the front door. I'm not sure if it would have been better to have an even 15 inches to shovel down the entire walk, or if the clear, blown sections were a welcome respite after plowing through the 2-3 foot drifts.

You can see the bare ground and sidewalk where the saucer is sitting next to the drift along the house. As I was typing this I heard a thunderous sound out the front door. Sure enough, the snow on the metal roof melted enough to all come crashing down, covering the sidewalk again! The "best" part is when it melts and leaks into my laundry room...


Good-bye Winter, here's to you!