Playing in the snowflake season

Winter is still being embraced with such joy around here. Each new snowfall has brought out our adventurous spirit and we have had many walks through thick, falling snow to explore the trails of the farm. AnaSofia pluck and energy on skis makes me smile (and groan, I can never say no to an outdoor activity, but man, am I sleeping well!)... On that same note, I am often asked to build a snowman and we all know that the science of building a snowman requires just the right conditions. But I would never tell the kids, "no, we can't go out and build a snowman" for fear they won't want to go outside anymore, so do we instead we go out and try in frustrating conditions to get a ball of snow to form? It does feed the scientist in me to lecture about various weather related phenomenon, but I also don't want them to not go outside because building a snowman is frustrating.
So the other day a friend gave me a really cool idea that you can do in any snowy conditions. Just use a shovel and little mittened hands to throw snow into a pile of whatever shape you wish. You can then mold it if conditions are right and even add colored water in a spray bottle (using food coloring) to embellish the shape. We are having so much fun with this project and have made fish, a mermaid, a cow and other things. It even looks cool a few days later when it gets snowed over and there is this huge shape of a person (or mermaid) lying in your yard. I am loving it!





Winter is definitely a season we embrace, aren't they all?! Each day working on our trails to ski and snowshoe on, building forts and feeding friends reminds me of why I am thankful for this quiet season to get work done inside and enjoy being outside.