February 2013 – Nomadic Noesis

A History of Snow

One thing I adore about my husband is that he loves to play in the snow. The first Christmas we were dating, he gave me a sled. Living in Missouri, we get two or three decent snows each winter, which is about right for me. I like snow, but not enough to live someplace like Buffalo, NY.

We’ve tried to pass on the “snow is for fun” attitude to our kids. Following is a collection of photos I’ve taken over the past few years of snow creations and activities involving my household.

In late 2006, we had a pretty big snow. Took us a while to get our van out.

Not that it mattered, because someone else’s car was stuck at the bottom of our driveway.

My daughter was 11 at the time and always wore a pirate hat, checking out the depth of the snow.

My son was eight and had his own methods for exploring the depths.

We ended up with an unconventional snow person that time.

In the front yard, a giant peace sign.

A couple of months later, we got more creative. An eagle/human hybrid.

We have a nice little hill in back of the house, and my husband builds a curved sled run, so we don’t crash into the neighbor’s fence. This was his first one.

As the years went on, he made enhancements, including constructing a launching ramp.

We’ve had a number of old skool snow people over the years, too. Simple can be fun.

In February, 2011, we had a historic blizzard.

And another snow cat. This one in a shelter. My husband and son collaborated on this.

This is what’s in our front yard right now. A snow elephant.

Poem: Teen Dies in Shooting

I was sorting through some of my poems the other day, and came across this one I wrote several months ago. I know it could use some more polish, but it seems always sadly timely. It was based on a newspaper headline.

Teen Dies in Shooting

Teen Dies in Shooting
and mothers who read the headline
die inside a little more
from the combined effects of this
and child soldier documentaries
along with
Young Lives End in Car Wreck

Oh my children, let me go with you
everywhere to hold your hand,
throw myself in front of the gun,
hide you from the recruiters,
grab the steering wheel

Let me never lay myself down to sleep
lest something evil should happen
while I’m not keeping watch