Arboretum

Enough is enough. Snow has been on the ground for the last two months and we haven’t made a single trip down a hill on skis or sled, we haven’t put together any snowmen or snow angels. Besides a few snowballs in passing  and windshield scraping, we have all but avoided the snow. Now the snow is begging us to play in it, so we had to get out and play in it before it is gone.

We finally made the trip to the storage unit to find some snow gear. We found two sets of the family snowshoes. It was a chilly 6 degrees outside, but the sun was shining, and the wind was minimal, it was a perfect snow day. We bundled up in many warm layers, packed a lunch, grabbed the snowshoes and headed for Overland Park’s 300-acre Arboretum and Botanical Gardens.

We were surprised that there were a few other cars in the parking lot, and even more surprised when we found that the paths were plowed in places, and clear from cross-country skiers and other walkers in place. Why had we waited so long? Apparently these people hadn’t.  Needless to say, the snowshoes were overkill and unnecessary, so we left them in the car.

The arboretum was a much needed dose of nature. The other cars must have been staff or people hanging out in the heated building, because we had the trails all to ourselves. One would think it was our first time in the snow. We literally frolicked down the trails, taking pictures of every limb heavy with snow, every bench buried deep, sculptures poking out stark against their white blanket. Jonathan ventured onto a frozen pond, and climbed around on shade structures.We were like kids running around in the park by ourselves, pointing out the animal tracks, and trying to name all of the birds we saw from the bird-watching station (we  saw cardinals, a couple of varieties of woodpeckers, a few we couldn’t decipher, and lots of sparrows).

The sky was clear and blue, the air was crisp and the snow was bright white. It was invigorating and beautiful, a perfect afternoon. Now that we have located the snowshoes we are excited to break trail after the next snowstorm. Our timing is impeccable though, because the forecast calls for warmer weather, and no snow!

Time Passes & Adventures Wait

It’s impressive how much Kristine and I haven’t been doing. Or at least how much we haven’t been doing outside. While Kristine talks with her parents in Northern Idaho the weather there is exactly how the weather here should be but isn’t. It’s raining and in the forties there while we’re sitting with highs in the single digits and a wind chill well below zero degrees. We’ve had a couple snow storms since we’ve arrived and the weather hasn’t warmed back up enough to melt any of it. The snow has flooded the sidewalks and I watch the days tick by while imprisoned to run on a treadmill.

Our only adventure seems to be while driving around on these particularly ‘fun’ driving conditions. I’ve gotten my fill of all the slip and sliding around that I couldn’t do while living in Seattle. Kristine gets tense anytime my hand so much as hovers over the E-brake.

We’ve just started going through some of my parents old stuff looking for their snow shoes and hoping we find them be out lay tracks in the snow asap. The single biggest consolation for Kristine while being cooped up in the house has been her favorite Christmas present of all, a tetris-like board game called Blokus!