SNOW????

[hazeleyes57]

Had some snow here in the East for several hours although it's not terribly thick - unlike our schnauzers - as they ran outside, Kai stopped so suddenly to eat the snow that Gizmo's momentum made him sort of slide straight over the top of him . Neither hurt, thank goodness, but it was funny.

[Samfan]

We haven't had much snow here since the day after Christmas ("Not even a sausage"* as I've heard said around here lately ). The day after that, I went xc skiing at my local park. It was quite nice, because it really wasn't cold out at all (if you kept moving). Alas, after about 15 minutes, my foot started hurting (I broke a bone in my foot back in September). But, a 15 minute hike-on-skis is certainly not time wasted, and I enjoyed it. I was just careful because of my foot (i.e. I didn't try to go down the sledding hill like I ususally like to do

*I admit, I did look that one up, even though I could figure out from context that it meant something like, "not a thing." Its the wanna-be reference librarian in me

Samfan

[Lynnedean]

We didn't have a lot of snow the other day, but it's still around - frozen and topped up by a very heavy frost last night which has covered every tree branch and every leaf with diamonds of ice. The country lanes and fields around here look like parts of Narnia - absolutely beautiful!

Re "not a sausage" - yep, it's a daft British expression, originating from I know not where, that indicates "nothing at all", as in the answer to "what do you most often find these days when you search the Internet for news of new Michael Kitchen projejcts other than FW?"

~ Lynne

[hazeleyes57]

I was just discussing 'not a sausage' with hubby and the general consensus appears to be that the expression's origin may be in Cockney Rhyming slang;

sausage and mash = cash, meaning something along the lines of 'we 'aven't a sausage'.

But I'm happy to defer to any authority that knows better; although I'm London born, it was not within the sound of Bow Bells.

[Lynnedean]

[EagleDay]

Wonderful, Lynne. What a cheerful little group.

Kirsten

[Samfan]

Very nice. Love it.

Samfan

[amiga]

They are just too cute!

Amiga

[Sunshine]

Awwwww...........Adorable!

[foylefan]

YAY!

[Englishfan]

I bet your neighbors anxiously wait for your snowman and friends to appear each year! So cute! And cheerful, too.

Englishfan.

[Lynnedean]

Aaagh! I've been waiting for months for work on exterior repairs to my bungalow, including the stripping off and replacing of all the guttering, to be done. It was finally scheduled to begin today. Nah, I thought - we had snow again last night and it's snowing now, so they surely won't turn up today. But they have - and they've already started to trample all over my lovely pristine snow! I've warned them not to squish my snowman!

I repeat ... AAAGH!

~ Lynne

[Englishfan]

Tell them that there is a "forum of eyes" on the snowmen and they better not go near them!
E'fan.

[Samfan]

Well, I'm at my "condo" in Southwest Michigan this weekend (AKA my parents' house; they're in Arizona for 2 months).

It snowed a lot here this past week. I went xc skiing at the local small state park this morning. It was quite lovely. I heard (but could never seem to see) woodpeckers, and I think I may have spotted some sort of titmouse (perhaps the Tufted Titmouse, but I was too far away, and it was too small, for me to see clearly). No deer (shucks). I was out for about an hour (taking one five minute break for hot chocolate). And my foot didn't hurt!! YAY!! (What a difference a month makes; a month ago, my foot hurt after 15 minutes). At the end, I 'tail-gated'* at my car with cheese and crackers and more hot chocolate before loading up the car and heading home. A lovely morning: some light snow, no wind, not-so-cold temperature (if you kept moving). Here's some pics:

The path I took:



A glimpse of the frozen small lake/marsh:




Enjoy!!

Samfan

*So, is tail-gating just an American thing, or do they do it in Europe and the UK? Here, before sporting events, people will park in the sports arena parking lots (Car-Parks) before the game (football, baseball, etc.), take portable grills and various beverages, and make a meal. A small party.

I used 'tail-gating' here jokingly. Usually when I ski or hike, I like to stop at my turn-around point and have a snack before heading back. To me, that's part of the fun of being out there--eating a snack (Sam and I would get along like a house a-fire). I like the "ambiance" of being outside, cutting up cheese and sausage with a Swiss Army Knife, and looking around at everything. I simply didn't do that today.

[bellis]

[jewell]

Tailgating can also mean following too closely in a car here, bellis.

I assume you're speaking of hairstyle when you use "bangs" and "fringe"? I've never heard them referred to as "fringe"!

Lots of fun with a mutual language. My all time, so far, British-ism is "I'll knock you up in the morning" hysterical to an American!

Samfan, so glad you foot is better. That has to be encouraging!

jewell

[bellis]

[Samfan]

Well, it's another lovely snowy weekend here in Southwest lower Michigan. We have lake effect snow falling, and I think its been falling almost nonstop since late last night. Not so cold--not much wind.

I went xc skiing again at the local small state park. Some other people were out, too: skiing, snowshoeing, hiking, and sledding. Since there was not much wind, there was a lot of snow sitting on the trees--really beautiful.

Here's a picture of the main path:



I also got real adventurous and did some 'back-country' skiing (going off the main path onto a little-used side-path). I made my way up to 'The Big Lake' (Lake Michigan). As I got closer to the lake, the wind picked up.

Here's a picture of a wintery, brooding Lake Michigan (you can just see it between the trees. Its the blue just above the white):



The back-country adventure got a bit more exciting going back down (mostly downhill) the side-path when I fell (it was either fall or hit a log), tried to get up, and damaged one of my telescoping trekking pole. I skied back to my car with one pole. Awkward, but not so bad. Thankfully, the pole is not actually damaged; it was just too cold and wet to lock properly to the height I needed.

Well, I hope this satisfies some people's longing for snow.



Samfan

[Sunshine]

Glad you didn't hurt yourself, Samfan!

[Lynnedean]

I wish I could be with you, Samfan! As usual, our snow was gone in quick time. Oh, well, it was fun while it lasted.

~ Lynne