VIDEO: Snow in March

The early part of this week was sunny with highs in the 70s. But Friday morning, it snowed! Tomorrow there is expected to be 1-3 inches of snow. We’ll see if that comes to pass. In the meantime, here’s a quick video clip about the snow:

To watch this movie, you need Apple’s QuickTime software installed on your computer.

Snow days in St. Louis

We’ve racked up some pretty big snows this year.

We had a fair snow of a few inches on almost two weeks ago. My brother Jon and I took Jadzia and Ludi to go sledding up on Killer Kill in Florissant next to the Ferguson-Florissant School District administration building. Good times were had.

Then, a little over a week later, we got the biggest snowfall we’ve seen since around 2008. I didn’t put a ruler to it, but we probably got 9-10 inches. Unlike after the earlier snow, our temperatures have remained below freezing so the snow has not yet melted and today and tomorrow we will probably get a little bit more on top.

After the big one, I took the girls outside to play in the yard. After other attempts in previous years, I wasn’t expecting to stay outside long. Usually one of the girls will get snow under a glove or in the face and start screaming and then everyone wants to go in.

Not this year.

Jadzia, Ludi, and Josie stayed outside to throw snowballs, build snow forts, and make snow angels. Jadzia got tired of it after a while, but Josie and Ludi kept with it longer. All told we were out of the house for 45 minutes or an hour. Not bad!

Here are some photos from both snowfalls:

Continue reading “Snow days in St. Louis”

Deluged, delayed

This summer I signed up to play softball. And I have been — every few weeks.

The problem is that the midwest has been inundated with rain all year. We’re soaked, soggy, and flooded. And that also goes for the baseball fields where our softball league is supposed to play each Sunday. We’ve had so many rainouts I can’t keep track anymore.

This past Sunday was to be a doubleheader. I called the rainout number before church and after church, just to be certain. The fields were fine. I was very happy: dry fields and beautiful temperatures (mid-70s). It looked like the perfect Sunday for a doubleheader.

So I drove out and met up with my teammates. We were warming up, and my throws were as wild as ever. Four other teams were nearly finished playing their early games. I was just starting to get loose when the sky let loose a soaking rain.

We took cover under a pavilion, waiting to see if the games would be cancelled. Of course, they were. The infield was just too slippery to be safe.

Some folks went home, but others stuck around. Eventually those of us left on my team and the opposing team started throwing the ball again and practicing fielding out in the outfield. After a bit, we decided to play a game just for fun (and badly-needed practice). At first we were going to play “Indian ball” so nobody would have to run the bases, but then we decided to play a regular softball game … but in the outfield grass.

I have to say it was loads of fun. I went 2-for-4 with a double and a run scored — my first hits of the season. I probably could have scored again, but while I was standing on second base another round of rain started up.

I hope we get to play next week. And I hope we have as much fun then as I did yesterday.