We are digging out today after our first major snow storm, about 12 inches on the level so far. Mary is excited to get a good snow cover on her dormant perennial plants, but the kids are disappointed with what this will do to their skating rink: the heavy snow on the early ice will cause the water to push up through the inevitable cracks. The resulting frozen slush ruins the rink beyond our capacity to repair it with our homemade rink rake (a nifty contraption designed to spread a thin layer of water on the ice).