♫ Thinking Out Loud ♫ by Ed Sheeran

“Press it down firmly.” The command was shouted from the side of the house. This was serious…..

There was a project in progress and the men in our house were finding a use for all the heaps of snow that had gathered through our brutal Canadian winter at the back of the garden. We did not know what to do with it anymore! The shovels whooshed to and fro as our recycle bins found another function in their somewhat restricted portfolio. Gone were the heaps of trash that had filled their bellies but instead white fluff lined their insides. The brilliant blue plastic receptacles caught the filtered light through the forest of maple and elm trees.  I stood at the top cocooned inside our warm house and admired my design team. They had pulled on their snow gear with their heavy snow boots too. All this cold weather paraphernalia did not seem to restrict their agility as they considered which consistency of the ice cold material would be most suitable for the job.

Heaps of snow….

“What on earth were they up to?”

I had no idea what was being constructed and was drawn to stand and stare. One thing was for certain….. These men were focussed and on a mission.  It was being well orchestrated with method   and had a definite plan. They would stop, lean on the snow shovels, discuss and then work on. It was reminiscent of a road crew but with a whole lot more motivation! I watched and waited. The compacted blocks were turned upside down and the ice brick slid out. Each had a position in the plan. The wall of snow began to immerge. By this stage I could not contain myself any longer and further investigation was definitely warranted.

Josh sizes up the material.

“Oh these things weigh a ton!”  I shouted as I lolloped down the side of the house in heavy snow boots to get a look in on the action. The debate then ensued as to what these master builders were creating on this freezing cold day.

“It looks like an igloo. No, I think something more majestic…..a mini Zimbabwe Ruins!” They were not about to let on and just kept me in limbo.  I had a distinct feeling that they did not know what would eventually materialise out of this pile of snow. But it was getting colder and this engineering feat would have to be completed in haste. The pace increased and I waited with baited breath. Slowly it   become apparent as the last snow brick took its position. A name was written up on the side……….a snow bar!

Cold weather activity…..

It was perfect complete with a glistening sheen of the ice that had already formed along the top. But like any construction, it needed the hands of a lady to add a few of the finer points. So the odd decorative piece and some lighting was added to the master piece. Now all that was needed was to christen this baby!  A few willing friends were summoned to help us with the task.

A perfect evening.

It was a perfect evening…..not too cold and not too warm. We did not want our snow – bar to melt or sublimate for that matter!  The fine snowflakes drifted down and we celebrated our creation, life and most of all a special family birthday. It was after all the beginning of spring.

Time to celebrate……