In the summer my front yard is a huge body of water, a playground for boats, swimmers and fishermen.
In the winter that water gets a hard shell of ice and becomes an entirely different playground, a brand new piece of “land” where we can walk, skate, and even drive snowmobiles and pickup trucks. Fishermen set up their shanties, forming cozy little villages.
As children we skated here with our mom and dog Lumpy.
When I illustrated my 1st book in 1983 I remembered times spent skating with my dog.

Cardinals in February from A Year of Birds by Ashley Wolff
During this Christmas break we got some lovely light snow and my sister and I set out to make this our new front yard.
We walked across the lake, following coyote tracks, and noticing where a bird landed, leaving wing and tail marks in the snow.
We made snow angels ,
built a buxom snow maiden,
did donuts,
drank cocktails,
and lost our balance!
Happy New Year.
Keep the wine handy.
We’re going to need it!
If you enjoyed this post, please follow me here: Ashley Wolff Art on Facebook, my webpage , my Etsy shop, or Instagram. You can follow the blog by hitting the “follow blog” button at the top of the sidebar.