Spring snow and family

 Well . . . I need to preface this by saying lots of folks got WAY more snow than we did, and for that I'm grateful.  But it rained all day Sunday before the snow started in the evening so there is plenty of ice underneath the snow to add to the mess.

We got about 6" of wet, heavy typical spring snow overnight on Sunday.  This kind of snow is so hard on the trees and the livestock, and the people trying to shovel it.  

The delicate birch tree outside my home office window was leaning at about a 45 degree angle and the top is broken.  That makes me so sad.  My husband went out and knocked a lot of the snow off and the tree did straighten up partially, but that top is not going to survive.  I just hope the rest of the tree is OK, but I'm not feeling very optimistic. 

I'm feeling very grateful that my husband was home so he could use the snowblower.  This photo is going across our driveway in front of the doors.  It took a long time to get down the driveway and through the wall of snow left by the city snowplow.  

We spent Sunday afternoon - before the storm arrived - 90 miles from home at a pool party for Sophia's 9th birthday.  They rented the indoor pool at a hunting lodge/event center in their little town.  It was just the 5 cousins plus Sophia's best friend from school who arrived right after I took this picture.  The kids had a blast swimming while the rain came down and the wind howled outside.  Pizza, chicken, and birthday cake filled up those bellies after a couple of hours of swimming.  

We left a little earlier than planned due to the impending weather change predicted, and got home at 7:00 PM just as it was getting dark.  The rain was beginning to "stick" to windshields as we got off the Interstate 3 miles from home, so our timing was perfect.  By 8 PM the ground was white, so we made a good decision to make that 90 mile drive a bit early.  

The highlight of the afternoon for me?  Both granddaughters running over and wrapping me in a hug when they walked in and saying "We missed you Grandma!!".   

Once we've both been vaccinated, then we'll feel more comfortable spending lots more time with them.  On a side note I have to say the schools in South Dakota have done a wonderful job of keeping kids and staff in school and healthy.  Most districts have some type of mask requirements (in spite of our governor), plus have spent lots of time and money to take other social distancing and sanitizing measures in buildings.  And very few schools have had to close completely due to Covid outbreaks.  Staff and students have quarantined as needed, but mostly have maintained in-person school.  High-five to those dedicated school staffs!!!