Snow CAT day!

A SUSV Army vehicle.  Such fun to drive!

4 addition inches of snow.

After the slight drizzle we had yesterday, it began to snow on top of it.   You might think "Freezing rain,"  But actually,  the temps hovered around 30, so the 4 inches or so acted as insulation for the "Sculptable" snow we had yesterday.  The 4 inches on top are also packy... so why not make another snowman? 

Different layers of snow. 

Or so that was the idea.  Turns out...  the two different layers of packy snow act quite differently from one another. the top layer bonds with itself just fine, but it does not want to stick to the lower layer.   Weird!  I know!  But that means I could not roll up a decent size snow ball to build another man.   ( and I had such big plans today...)  Instead,   All I could do was shovel up a pile and try to pack it down to a small mound.  My plans had to change!

A snow Llama?

So what could I possibly sculpt out of a mound of snow about half my previous snowman's size?   A dog?  A lion?   A kid.  ( Not a kid... I hate kids!  Besides,  there are plenty of real ones creeping around these parts.)  How about a cat?   

A "mid-sized" snow cat!

I'm not sure what comes to your mind when you hear the word "snow cat".  But for me...   we used to call those a brand of Snowmobile.   Later.. in the Army,  a Snow Cat was one of those treaded machines used to climb mountains at ski lodges.  We called them SUSV...  or Sus-Vee.  Short for: Small Unit Snow Vehicle.  Hurray for the Alaskan Arctic Infantry!  But I digress....

I don't see the resemblance.

My attempt at a snow cat.

Truth be told, it started out a dog. A Howling dog!   But things just did not gel.   After a few minutes of carving the snow, it looked more like a lion or cat.   I decided a "Larger than Normal" cat would be more fitting.   Besides... I like cats.  And Cats mostly seem to  like me.   It seemed like the perfect fit. 

Whiskers included.

With a frowny face.  Because... it's a cat!

Adding the whiskers and eyes were really essential to separate it from a "faceless snow statue."  I find that the pointy ears and long whiskers are part of the defining characteristics for a cat.  Otherwise it looks like an "Egyptian Fertility god" or something.  (Were cats considered gods of fertility?  I don't really know. But it sounded good for this blog posting, so we will keep it.)

My "Cool Cat" that warms  me up.

Now Mr. Snowman has a cute and very large, feline friend to keep him.... cold?   at night.   I would guess that snowmen do not want any thing that warms them up.   Even a cute kitty.   Though the expression "melts your heart" might be something that applies to most of us cat lovers. If I were made of snow, I would want a "Cool Cat" next to me, I'm sure!   

Cheryl in Rehab.

Well,  I can handle a little more snow as long as the cold does not get out of hand.   On the other hand,   A cold wave would freeze up the snow creatures and keep them around a little bit longer.   That might be fun as well.   I know Subie would much rather start in any temperature above thirty degrees...  and when Subie is happy,  I'm happy.  Yes, I base most of my happiness on my car.... But only because it is a Subaru!  Is that so "Un-American?"

At least we will be able to walk a bit now that Cheryl is in "rehab"  ( From a running injury... not drugs.  That!  Is another blog post...)  We did not plan for the wind and the trail was rather slippery, so we called it after a short trip.  At least we were able to get out in the fresh air for a bit.  Hope everyone is having a fine day today.  And if the temps allow,  get outside!  It's a great place to be. Thanks for stopping in.