January Slush

It started to rain last night. The list of school closings was massive today; however, Mackinac Island Schools were open. Phil was chivalrous and took an early lunch to snowmobile our daughter to preschool. It's great to have rain gear on hand that's big enough to wear over a winter coat!


Our snowmobile's steering column is still too stiff for me to turn, so we head to school on foot to pick big sister up (with our massive double stroller).


The puddles were too interesting, so my little one ended up in the stroller. A path was cleared on one side of the road.


Mackinac slush is less than lovely.


The wreaths were just taken down:


Fortunately, there's enough slush to snowmobile.


The Pony Express! (sort of... It's horses with the mail)


I think that horse is watching me...


It is!


Hi guys! Good horses :)


This street had its own little rivers:


Consequentially, this is when I most lamented the fact I left my rain boots in our car's trunk. And on top of that- the zipper on my winter boots broke over the weekend. I'm wearing great hiking shoes; they're not waterproof.














The Mighty Mackinac Bridge in the distance:


We made it! 20 minutes before school's out. (I wasn't sure how slippery it would be and left early).


My two year old is asleep; fortunately, it's not very cold. (I never even felt the need to put my gloves on today).


I had 20 minutes to kill so took lots of pictures. I couldn't resist this shot:


So precious!


Notice the pile of sleds to the left of the doors:


Kids bring sleds to school and use them on the hill the snowmobiles are parked on:


No snowmobiles in the playground!


A barge heading back to St. Ignace:


Slush just isn't as pretty as snow:


My wet feet:


My torn rain pants- this is why I should have put a chain guard on my bike a long time ago.


These are my yak trax (sometimes referred to as "ice grippies"). They are vital for my life! Turns out taking a picture of the bottom of your foot while standing is tricky...


Closeup on the tread of our stroller's wheel:


Our four year old preferred to walk home:


Looking up towards the Grand:


It's not just for safety reasons that I don't want her in the road!


She kept finding rocks for her collection and adding them to her pocket:





The moment where the child stands under the water dripping from the roof (familiar scene for you too?)


She chose to walk in the deepest snow:


There's not much slush here- when it's thick, a snowmobile's back spray goes higher than its rider:


Glad I didn't have to traverse that puddle!


A frequent occurrence on our walk:


It's another rock!





My cutie!


Island police car (used a lot in winter)


There it goes:


Pretty sidewalk:


There's no way to avoid damp feet:


Once I was inside (with dry socks) we shared a "snack buffet," and the girls loved it!

Location:Mackinac Island