Sugar Snow

Yesterday morning we woke up to trees dipped in sugar.  It was beautiful, but by the time I got around to going out to take pictures, all the snow had melted off the leaves.  Frosty trees and fences are so beautiful, but growing up with a lineman father means I hate to see it at the same time.  I know how much damage the heavy frost can cause for power lines.  Fortunately, this morning was just a mild frost so I could enjoy the beauty thoroughly.

I don't shovel the back steps, we never use them even when they aren't covered in snow.  If I did, the girls wouldn't have as much fun outside.
It's fun to throw snowballs off of.  The dogs jump and try to bite the snow falling through the air.
They make a somewhat bumpy and slow-going slide.


The dramatic spill at the end is the most fun.

Relaxing on a foot of snow.
My two younger girls love to eat snow.  I remind them frequently of the bathtub incident and the amount of dirt in that snow, but "it tate like i teem mama!"


The evergreen in the backyard with branches bent under the weight of the snow.
It makes a private and peaceful spot to eat their snowball "i teem."
We can't leave out the dogs.  Don't think I forgot about Eve, she was inside gaming with her dad.  This black lab mix beauty is Lola.  She has a sad sad story.  A man whose wife works with my sister Deidre found a box taped shut on the railroad tracks near where he works.  Inside he found four little black puppies.  When I heard the sad story I said, "I'll take two!!!"  Probably fortunately for me he easily found homes for all puppies and I only got one.  She's a sweet, loving and loyal dog.  She is never far away from the kids.  When we walk them to school and have to leave them there, she whines and cries and looks longingly over her shoulder the whole walk home.
This siberian greyhound beauty is Buttercup.  Affectionately called Butts or Buttsy, much to the dismay of Eve when I say it in public.  Many, many times Deid and I have walked around the neighborhood screaming "BUTTS" when she has run away.  She is also a rescue.  We also have two cats, Pippi Longstocking and Stellaluna (Pippi and Stella), and had a bird named Alex.  We found out the hard way not to have a bird dog and a bird share the same roof.