Journal of a Sabbatical

January 14, 2000

holding the fort

Today's Reading: Winter from the Journals of Henry David Thoreau edited by H.G.O. Blake, Beach Grass by Charles Wendell Townsend

Yesterday's snow isn't really the right kind for making snowballs and forts, but that didn't stop the kids. They each built a fort and planned out a whole city with residences and factories as well. They even drew up plans on paper for the whole thing.

While we were waiting for Andrea's bus, Lizzy experimented with mixing food coloring and water in spray bottles to color the snow so they could have different color forts and different color snowballs.

As soon as Andrea got home, it was into the snow pants and outside to hold the forts until dark. They wanted to know if I have snow pants for Antarctica.

Each fort has a road leading to it for snow tubes. They had to keep hauling more snow from other parts of the yard to pack into the snow tube roads so they had enough sliding surface. There really isn't enough snow for any of this, and Andrea keeps telling me that, but they build and slide anyway.

After supper I show them where in Antarctica I'm going. Lizzy wants me to pose for pictures with my arms around penguins on each side of me. I ain't puttin' my arms around no wild penguins. Nosiree. Wild animals aren't that obliging for pictures.

Short entry. Very tired.