a snow day in Colorado (not for dial-up)
let's go outside!
Originally uploaded by Antof9. Poor bcjennyo's kids -- they hardly ever get to play in the snow. So I thought I'd have a little snow party for them. My backyard is one big wide open space, just waiting for footprints. And quite frankly, adults don't have fun in the snow. They ski and snowboard and drive in it and generally consider it annoying. KIDS, on the other hand, know how to have fun in the snow. So here is me, pretending I have some little people over here playing!
Hey -- wanna go outside? Here's how it looks from the front porch!
neighbor
Originally uploaded by Antof9. and here is what our neighbor's house looks like :)
front of house
Originally uploaded by Antof9. and here's my house -- look at all that lovely snow in the front, just waiting for someone to play in it! (and our roof isn't normally white!)
little 'hi'
Originally uploaded by Antof9. like this!
:)
Originally uploaded by Antof9. I couldn't fit the smiley face in the shot ...
not melting yet
Originally uploaded by Antof9. let's walk around the side of the house
what's going on in back?
Originally uploaded by Antof9. Here's the view looking over the fence -- the shed is on the right
to the backyard!
Originally uploaded by Antof9. hey -- there's lots of snow back there for us to play in! Through the gate we go :)
the deck
Originally uploaded by Antof9. look at all the snow on the deck!
past the shed
Originally uploaded by Antof9. when walking in snow, one should always check one's footprints :)
zig-zag
Originally uploaded by Antof9. Here is one of my favorite things to do in snow. Stand with your feet together, and take your first step with your right foot, swooping out in a "c" shape. Then swoosh your left foot through the snow in an opposite of the "c", so your left toe comes near your right heel as it swooshes up and out. Then swoosh your right toe up and past your left heel, and so on. When you turn around, VIOLA! a zig zag. (yes, "viola")
It works on a beach, too :)
heavy snow on bushes
Originally uploaded by Antof9. now -- check out how much snow is on this bush. It's very heavy, and the kind of thing that dads sometimes worry about. If there's too much snow weighing down the branches, they could break. My dad used to go outside and knock the snow off bushes that looked this tired.
expanse!
Originally uploaded by Antof9. I thought about knocking the snow off that bush, too. But first, I had to stand still and take a picture of this huge yard of clean snow, just waiting for us to play in!
a minute later
Originally uploaded by Antof9. but while I was taking the picture of the wide open space, I heard a *floomp* sound. I turned around, and that big heavy clump of snow had fallen off on its own!
'Hi'
Originally uploaded by Antof9. First, we write a big huge "Hi" for the airplanes to see from the sky. There's a smiley face next to it, but it's so big I couldn't fit it in the same picture!
Note to self: next time, write words facing the other way so your shadow doesn't block them (I'm actually holding my hand over the cameraphone to see the screen, but it was so bright I couldn't see anything anyway).
creepy smiley
Originally uploaded by Antof9. Did you ever try to draw a smiley face with only your feet? It involves a lot of jumping :)
backyard view
Originally uploaded by Antof9. Here's the back of the house. Unk just took the lawn chairs off the deck (they're in the shed) two days ago. See the double window above the snow-covered kitchen window (it's the bay window)? That's my office, where I look out the window all day while I'm working. I can see the foothills of the Rockies from there!
snow angel
Originally uploaded by Antof9. Colorado State Municipal Code 358.6F states that "snow angels must be produced when playing in the snow". I didn't want to get a ticket, so I obeyed the law.
A Picture Share!
Originally uploaded by Antof9. for some reason, every time I've been with kids near a banister like this, the little people I know always want to knock it off. So I did that for you :)
clearing the railing
Originally uploaded by Antof9. it was kinda fun, actually
face-washing snow
Originally uploaded by Antof9. see this handful of snow from the railing? It doesn't weigh anything. It's really light, dry snow. Some people think it's funny to wash someone's face in snow. I think it's mean, and I don't ever do it (just so you know). However, if I were going to do it, this would be a good kind of snow to do it with. Heavy, wet snow would hurt more than this.
Instead, I like to toss handfuls of this into the air. It's sparkly!
my office window
Originally uploaded by Antof9. see -- there! That's my office window. Every morning, once the sun comes up, I open my blinds. And then they fall crooked like this. When Unk comes in with his coffee, he usually fixes the blinds for me, but today he had a video shoot and he wasn't around to fix them.
just waiting for footprints
Originally uploaded by Antof9. look! I left the other half of the backyard for you to play in!
those are stairs!
Originally uploaded by Antof9. ok -- time to go in -- making angels made my backside cold and wet!
Doesn't it look like you could slide down this on a sled? You probably could once or twice, but then the stairs would start bumping you.
on the bushes
Originally uploaded by Antof9. let's check out the snow on this bush -- there's a lot of it ...
not wet enough to pack
Originally uploaded by Antof9. you would have to add water to this to make a snowball. It's just not wet enough to pack.
a fun morning
Originally uploaded by Antof9. if you'd been here playing with me, your hair would look stringy, too!
Thanks for playing outside with me -- I had a lot of fun!
brush off outside!
Originally uploaded by Antof9. ALWAYS brush the snow off outside! Right now it's just dry and cold, but as soon as you go in the house, it starts melting. When I was little, my dad would use the broom and sweep us off before coming in the house!
it gets in your cuffs!
Originally uploaded by Antof9. snow can get EVERYWHERE! If the snow is deeper than the tops of your boots (which this was), it gets inside your boots and in your cuffs (hint: it's fun to pick up this snow and drop it down someone's shirt). Make sure you take off your boots on a mat or old towel.
wet boots, old towel
Originally uploaded by Antof9. leave your boots on an old towel so they can dry off. Nobody likes to step in melted snow in their socks!
put the kettle on!
Originally uploaded by Antof9. Once you get out of your coat and mittens and boots, go straight for the kitchen -- there's hot chocolate there!
'Hi' from the 2nd floor
Originally uploaded by Antof9. I thought we needed a shot from my office window! It's not quite the same as from an airplane, but you get the idea :)
surveying the angel
Originally uploaded by Antof9. The angel. From on high :)
And now I have to go back to work. Thanks for the fun coffee break!