digging out and digging in

There has been so much snow this winter that at times it's been a bit overwhelming. Hardly a day goes by without snowfall or without a road closures in the region due to snow and accidents. Last year's drought looks like a distant memory right now with the snow pack well above normal. Every morning I look out the window to see whether or not I need to shovel the sidewalk.







This morning I found a cup somebody had left outside on the wooden railing the day before.







Last weekend we decided to try something new for us... we dug a snow cave. Took the better part of an afternoon. The gale force winds had created some pretty impressive drifts to bore into.








The first part was just a chamber wide enough for both kids to get inside comfortably, but then the home improvement/expansion itch took over. Thankfully we didn't have to refinance to realize this project.





First the kids put in a window near the entrance. Next I went round the other side of the drift and began boring a new hole toward the cave. Tess quickly grasped the idea and began tunneling from her end. We finally met but the passage was only wide enough for a small body. Colm willingly volunteered. He disappeared into the tunnel and after a few suspenseful seconds, emerged smiling out of the back side. We left the kids to play on their own and went inside to watch the Super Bowl. They stayed out there for a couple of hours. It didn't take them long to make changes. They put in a sky light and carted a few shovel fulls of snow back inside so they could build benches and a fireplace... they seem to have an instinct for remodeling.
K