Waking up to white drifting down outside blanketing clean. Bundling up warm we carefully make our way down the icy slick stairs. Quickly build forts and throw snowballs until hands numb and wet inside our wool mittens. Inside again, the mittens would be drying steamily on the heater. During recess packing snow to roll larger until it becomes too lumpy and heavy to push alone, leaving a path revealed of crushed green glimpses of summer.

Icicles would form down the eaves of the house, growing slowly longer over night. Standing on the waist high wall that ran along porch edges to break off as close to the base as possible, sometimes shattering. Resembled crystalline carrots, slowly tapering with occasional lumps to a delicate slightly rounded wandering point. Large and transparent blurry, clean spotted occasional flecks embedded as first fallen untouched snow in the morning.

Precursing snow puddles would freeze over. At first small filliments of ice spreading across the surface difficult to see, upon touch revealed while crumbling. Wind would grow colder steadily ice would thicken until it was possible to stand upon lightly without shattering. Then break the edges away to lift up a dripping murky sheet for cold sun to wander through, until at last frozen numb hands it was dropped shattering small sparkling chunks sliding over the cement.