Snow Fun

It has been a very snowy season already! As someone who does not ski, snowboard,sled or skate, I dread each snowstorm and think only of the terrible road conditions, scary hills, endless shoveling and being trapped in the house or stuck on a hill in my car. On the other hand, it is a good excuse to stay home and work on projects, read, cook or knit, but sometimes one needs a bit of exercise or a reason to don boots, gloves, hats and coats besides the effort of shoveling, which I have to do very carefully because of my neck and arms, which are often in pain and are needed for other things like sewing and knitting! This year I hired a snowplow service for the driveway, but there was still the deck and the walkway to do.

But it sure is pretty.

Recently I ran across the amazing snow art of Simon Beck: https://www.facebook.com/snowart8848 ,

who spends many hours creating his precise and elegant masterpieces. I got to thinking about my huge back yard, and the flat expanse of snow outside, and thought it would be fun to try my hand at “snow quilting”.I had to clear off the deck so I could get to the back yard, and by the time I did that I was pretty tired, but the lure of design was strong, so I envisioned a big flower and set out to “quilt” the snow. I used the big tree as a center, and started walking the design. Ithe snow was a foot deep, and pretty soon it became apparent that running in the snow was easier than walking,because of the effort to pull each foot out of the snow was less at a run. I thought about the line I was creating and that it might be better to walk toe to heel, but worried I would fall down. Then I decided I was stitching the snow, so it was fine to leave space between footprints, so I started running. It was exhilarating to canter through the snow but rapidly exhausting, and I had to stop and rest a lot. As it was 34 degrees out, I quickly became overheated, and sweaty, but I was determined to finish the outline of the design and see what happened before I had to leave for an appointment.

My first design was rough, and messy, but I could see the possibilities, and it was a lot of fun. Finally a winter sport I could enjoy!

Today it has warmed up a lot, and the grass is poking through the melted snow, so the daisy shows up even more:

It is funny, but I find myself captivated by this idea, and the possibilities, and actually looking forward to the next storm, as I now have a way to interact with the snow that pleases me. As long as I take it in short bursts, I might be able to get good at this! And it is less boring than being on the elliptical machine. Last night I had to sleep for 12 hours, and I'm sore, but it was interesting and enjoyable to be outside. As an impermanent and evanescent art form, I suppose it is philosophically interesting, but it supplies a few needed factors: winter exercise, creation of unique designs,infinite possibilities and transient results, which is good because it does not add to my stash and clutter my house. Plus, it is free! Now I am eager to see the snow fall again!