SNOW!

Happy New Year! Many of my Christmas cards have not even been sent, but they soon will be - Christmas or not! So my apologies if you have not heard from us - yet. The thought was there, the time just wasn't. Christmas has been and gone, almost in a blur it is over so quickly, but with some lovely slow moments that we have enjoyed a lot and just might manage to post about soon. If I don't start somewhere, I never will, so the snow it is. On Tuesday evening the children went to bed delighted to see snow was coming for the SECOND time this winter! We enjoyed it a lot just before Christmas, and various children were hoping it wouldn't snow again, as they had had enough of being cold. :o) Well, it didn't last long, and although we weren't out first thing on Wednesday morning, we made it outside to enjoy the snow together in the afternoon having packed our Christmas decorations away until next December. This time, like last year, we made a huge snow bear on our little front lawn, planted firmly in place by the contraption we spent ages wondering over last winter and this time was quick and easy....



Here most of us are with the finished very big, friendly and cuddly, if a little cold, snow bear. There was a little snow cat and snow penguin too, one either side.



Samuel spent just about the whole time having a ride on my back, which allowed me to carry him and help at the same time. He came out for just a little before going inside though, and was very excited to properly be with me.




While some of us did that, and Michael made a smiley face in snow balls on our porch roof, Rebekah was desperate to get sledging again! The TO LET sign we used last year and now keep down the side of the shed worked brilliantly on the drive again, and I thought for a while by the way I kept hearing a crunch of snow as people fell to the ground, and then saw someone skidding off on the fronts, that I belonged to a family of penguins. Michael did an especially good Emperor penguin impression. :o) Here's Michael, Hannah, Rachel, Sarah and Rebekah ...







Peter was too cold to be out for long - he just couldn't stand it! So he watched through the window part of the time, and raided the fruit that was bought just that afternoon when he and Michael went shopping! He enjoyed a whole punnet of strawberries, which was a feel-good food for him and Rebekah as we've been ill between Boxing Day (26th December) and now, but very helpfully told me there was another whole pack left in very much a 'don't worry Mum' kind of a way. I settled down to read him and Samuel a snow bear story, and Samuel loved it at least as much as Peter. Here he is enjoying the feel of the textured pages of the book we read, and enjoying some swinging time with Sarah....





Today, the snow had turned to ice over night, and so it was a lot more crunchy, slippery in places, and not really wet enough to build with any more - more powdery. Michael helped dig our neighbour's car out so he go and do their shopping, and then we enjoyed a walk in the woods over the road from our house before lunch. This time Samuel fell asleep just as I was getting him ready to go out, so he had a very warm cuddly walk - not even a cold face today.




This is the path we would normally take through the trees - flatter for me and Peter! It looked beautiful!



The girls were straight off through the trees though. The normal restrictions to paths between rough foliage wasn't there in the snow. Just a different world to explore, and so like an ice palace stood in amongst the trees with the white snow reflecting the light.



We ended up noticing the animal tracks in the snow as we ventured off the path onto fresh snow. There were so many rabbit tracks. It was very sweet to see the two back feet beautifully shaped side by side. Maybe a fox track? We know there are some foxes here as we see one occasionally. A dog, and something else we couldn't work out, but may be a bird? It was fun to follow the tracks to where they disappeared into burrows.




This was my favourite image of fit all though - the tracks criss-crossing each other. The same animal, or several different ones? We started to wonder if they also enjoyed the difference of the snow, and came out to play?!




We were interested when Sarah noticed this sight too - quite a few snails apparently sheltered together.



We made our way back through the trees to the flatter path once Rebekah's and Peter's feet started to get just too cold, so it was easier for them to get walking. It was just beautiful there too.




Here are Michael, Rebekah and Peter tracking me!



The walk home was fun too.




Here are some of the wonderful icicles on the front of our house,



some snow angels in the making,




and Rachel and Rebekah playing in the back garden later in the afternoon.



The rest of us girls were warm inside, and Michael had taken the boys out to get some more oat milk. One more play in the snow for all of them, freezing hands and feet, warm pyjamas and food, and a chapter of Paddington Bear, and everyone was pretty quickly in bed. Snow is lots of fun, and so tiring too! Peter will want to be in it again tomorrow though. :o)