another snow

After days of hearing that there was another chance of snow coming our way, I started to pay attention to the forecast.  This one was billed as a huge storm.  "One for the record books" they kept saying.  The threat was so bad that on Monday night they called off school for Blue on Tuesday.  While he rejoiced, G was less happy about the approaching storm.  She has to be at work regardless of weather, so the days of mess that were predicted meant she was going to be dropping the kids off and camping out in her office for the week.  

 Tuesday morning they drove that way and I drove this way.  It snowed steadily on my drive and when I arrived at school this is what I saw.

 And within minutes of being on campus, I got the official email stating that the school would close at 11:30 and remain closed for the next few days.  That meant that we had about half of our Advanced Sculpture class to work before leaving.  After allowing for getting everything out, putting everything up and cleaning up the studio, we would have accomplished very little.  So instead of working on our current projects, we all went out on the front lawn for a little snow sculpting.  The students came up with the idea for what to make and they were pretty excited to get to use the chainsaw.

 They created a bowing alley with a ball and 6 bowling pins.  That's the class in the photo with a couple of extra helpers included (Sean, Laura, Cessquatch, Katertot, Caitlin, Tyler, Oscar & Andrew).  And of course, they hit me with snowballs the whole time.

 When we were done, I started for home but stopped when I saw Professor Liu sitting out in the snow painting.  He's a visiting scholar from China and he's having an exhibit of his stunning work in our gallery in a couple of months.  

 The snow was still coming down pretty good, but was not sticking to the roads.  

 When I got home I got my run in before the snow got any deeper.  The weather people told us that this was just the first round of light precipitation before the main storm arrived.  I prepared myself for complete and utter boredom knowing that the wife and kids would not be home until the storm was gone and the roads were clear.

 The first round of snow was the good kind...it was wet enough to stick together.  I had plenty of drawing, sculpting and school work to do, but I couldn't resist the chance to get out in the snow and play a little.  That's a 5 foot tall chihuahua head in the front yard.

Wednesday brought more snow through most of the morning.  I did draw a little, but I also got out and walked, took photos and rode the 4 wheeler in the snow.

 The morning snow was followed by some sleet and freezing rain.  The roads were white and despite the state of emergency, it seemed everyone in town was determined to get out and drive.  A guy across the road was four wheeling in his pasture but everyone else was driving on the icy road.  I stuck to the 4 wheeler.  By this point I was so bored I was carrying on conversations with the dogs.  They mostly seemed confused.

 The wind kept blowing the snow off the roof of the house.  When I tried to go out this morning I met some resistance from the 20 inch snow drift on the back deck.  

 After a nice hot breakfast and coffee I discovered that the 2 inches of snow on top of the layer of ice was perfect for sculpting.  I set out to make a more traditional snowman for the kids to enjoy when they got home.  I was bored by the time I got to the head, so I got a little weird there.

 By the time I finished that one, I was warm so I shed my jacket and hat and started on another snow project.  My back was hurting from rolling up snowballs but I couldn't miss the chance to make snow sculptures.  It's not every day we get to do this hear in the south.  I ended up making a giant molar to complete the snow sculpture park in the front yard.

 Not everyone was having fun.  G was trying unsuccessfully to sleep in her office, Zeke had cabin fever and the chihuahua couldn't figure out where the grass went or why her feet were so cold.  

 After the sun came out and cleared the roads, the family came home to play with me.  Violet and I did some 4 wheeler doughnuts and I pulled them on the sled through the melting snow.

 Blue started a snowman of his own but then realized how fun it would be to balance on it and then jump off.

I even took a shot at being dragged behind the 4 wheeler.  It was a slow start and just as was thinking I was too heavy, G took off and slung me around the field as I held on for dear life.  

Next week the temperatures are predicted to be in the 70s and I'm thrilled.  I've enjoyed the very cold winter and the snow and now I'm ready for a warm beach and a cool breeze.