It's always a bit of a surprise when we get a snow day here in Arkansas, but we did have one this week. We are not prone to snow and so there is not a lot of snow equipment to help with removal. That is why when we get 3 or 4 inches everything shuts down. It took me a while to figure this out and why Walmart shelves were empty when ever I happen to make a run there.
Growing up in Canada, snow was a common thing & you got very few snow days.You were expected to in school or at work most of the winter and usually had to wear your snow suit just to get there warm and dry.When you were lucky enough to have one, you had to really bundle up. We would have so much snow gear on you could hardly move, under shirt, long sleeve shirt, sweater, long johns,pants, 2 pairs of socks and that was before you put on your snow suit! But we loved it so out we went to make snow angels, and snow men (if the snow was sticky enough), and go sledding.
We spent a good portion of our winter time snowmobiling as well. One of our favorite activities was to tie our wooden sleds to the back of the snowmobile, one us would drive and one of us would stand on the toboggan like a giant ski and get pulled around the yard at great speed. It was great fun and we loved it, until the day we ran the snow mobile in a tree in the yard and destroyed the front of it. I don't remember being able to do it so much after that!
As we got older we were allowed, of course to do a lot more solo snowmobiling.It provided us with many hours of amusement and out door fun. We spent a lot of time at relatives where we stored them, so that we could snowmobile in the large fields and areas behind their house.We loved to go at night especially after a new snow. The moon would make it sparkle like diamonds, and there were never any tracks except for a few animals. It was like being alone in a huge white world, dashing across the snow in the dark with the cold air biting at any skin you had left exposed. You usually had someone riding with you, arms around your waist, clinging to you for dear life. Then you might find a huge drift or hill, and oh the fun. You would turn around and scream through the rushing wind and the scarf around your mouth "HANG ON" and feel the arms around your waist gripping you for dear life. They could not see what you were headed for but knew if they didn't they would slide off the back as you zoomed into the air. I was always a
mazed at how fast and far we could fly on those heavy machines, but oh the fun we had. We would land with a mighty bang and then stop, fall off the machine and laugh for dear life. (that is if you were still on it as it went over the drift). Some times we would fall off, unable to hang on and we would go one way and the machine the other. Then you would have to scramble to get up, laughing or moaning if you got hurt, and run looking for the snowmobile that got away.
As I get older I will always appreciate those memories.I think it was a unique way of life. As I get older though I also appreciate the milder weather. I get to see the snow, the ground is white for a day or two and it brings back some fun memories, and then it slowly disappears leaving us once again with the brown bare ground, a bit of sun, and thinking once again to spring, gardening and the hot weather of summer.
Growing up in Canada, snow was a common thing & you got very few snow days.You were expected to in school or at work most of the winter and usually had to wear your snow suit just to get there warm and dry.When you were lucky enough to have one, you had to really bundle up. We would have so much snow gear on you could hardly move, under shirt, long sleeve shirt, sweater, long johns,pants, 2 pairs of socks and that was before you put on your snow suit! But we loved it so out we went to make snow angels, and snow men (if the snow was sticky enough), and go sledding.
We spent a good portion of our winter time snowmobiling as well. One of our favorite activities was to tie our wooden sleds to the back of the snowmobile, one us would drive and one of us would stand on the toboggan like a giant ski and get pulled around the yard at great speed. It was great fun and we loved it, until the day we ran the snow mobile in a tree in the yard and destroyed the front of it. I don't remember being able to do it so much after that!
As we got older we were allowed, of course to do a lot more solo snowmobiling.It provided us with many hours of amusement and out door fun. We spent a lot of time at relatives where we stored them, so that we could snowmobile in the large fields and areas behind their house.We loved to go at night especially after a new snow. The moon would make it sparkle like diamonds, and there were never any tracks except for a few animals. It was like being alone in a huge white world, dashing across the snow in the dark with the cold air biting at any skin you had left exposed. You usually had someone riding with you, arms around your waist, clinging to you for dear life. Then you might find a huge drift or hill, and oh the fun. You would turn around and scream through the rushing wind and the scarf around your mouth "HANG ON" and feel the arms around your waist gripping you for dear life. They could not see what you were headed for but knew if they didn't they would slide off the back as you zoomed into the air. I was always a
mazed at how fast and far we could fly on those heavy machines, but oh the fun we had. We would land with a mighty bang and then stop, fall off the machine and laugh for dear life. (that is if you were still on it as it went over the drift). Some times we would fall off, unable to hang on and we would go one way and the machine the other. Then you would have to scramble to get up, laughing or moaning if you got hurt, and run looking for the snowmobile that got away.As I get older I will always appreciate those memories.I think it was a unique way of life. As I get older though I also appreciate the milder weather. I get to see the snow, the ground is white for a day or two and it brings back some fun memories, and then it slowly disappears leaving us once again with the brown bare ground, a bit of sun, and thinking once again to spring, gardening and the hot weather of summer.
