Well, you forge a path:

Find a good place for the yardstick:

And then get photographic evidence:

Click to see the proof.

Yes, we got at least 20-inches of snow!

This measurement was taken out where the snow would fall and not drift…the drifts were even taller!

Talk about an interesting turn of events…for OCTOBER!

So, what does one do with 20-inches (and then some) of snow?  Well, if you can’t beat it, you play in it!

She definitely gets her genes from two full-blooded Midwesterners, because she did not want to come in out of the cold.  That, and I blame the fact that it was 18-degrees (Fahrenheit) when I went to the hospital to have her, and I refused to wear a coat.

She wanted to make snow angels on the driveway and got very upset when I wanted to shovel them up. “You need to go play over there,” I’d say with a smile, pointing to the mounds and drifts of snow on the lawn. “I can’t shovel it if you’re standing in it.”

“But why are you going to shovel it, Momma!? Don’t ruin it!  I want to play in it!” she’d scream with glee. It didn’t much coaxing to get her to play elsewhere.

She only got stuck once, and I rescued her pretty quickly. Even being trapped didn’t deter her. She was just beside herself with excitement.

It took me an hour to shovel, but she wasn’t done. “Now it’s MY turn to shovel, Momma!” she begged.  She cried genuine tears at the thought of leaving all the wonderful snow behind. I promised her we could play in it again on Thursday.

And, speaking of Thursday…

When we realized that it wasn’t going to stop anytime soon, we began to hope for a second snow day. The thought of harnessing the horses and dragging out the sleigh to take Claire to school on Thursday was daunting.

Last night, we finally got word: Thursday, October 29th will go down in history as the Second Snow Day (in October!) in a row! This time, the auto-dialer called us just after 6pm to confirm what I’d already seen online and confirmed by calling the hotline.  (I was hoping we wouldn’t get another early-morning call!)

By evening, we had over a foot of snow, and it was still snowing.

In the wee hours of the morning, just after midnight, I took this photo.

Click photo for more detail.

I played around with the exposure to show you what looks like an old-time newspaper clipping. I love how the tall pillar-like growth of snow is balanced on the fence in the background and the railing of the deck.

Later today, we’ll be playing in it again. One of us will be shoveling, while the other one plays in a Winter Wonderland.

Pure.
Joy.