My granddaughters have been visiting.  We usually spend lots of time outside but the temperature has not been cooperating.

I picked them up yesterday.  It was mid-afternoon by the time we got back to my place, got unpacked and had lunch so there was not much outdoor time.  We filled the bird feeders and the deer food tubs.

I bought each of them some x-country skis for Christmas.  I sized the bindings to their boots so the skis were ready to try out.  Unfortunately, the snow in the back yard was too deep for those short little legs.  

I drove over to the local ball diamond which is less than a minute away, thinking that the snow might not be as deep there.  Well, we had a big surprise.  The snow was twice as deep so we had to put off trying the skis until today when we could head to a park with set tracks.

The time spent outside was short-lived due to the wind that started blowing but we had such fun while we were out there.  

The younger of the two is a daredevil so I made sure that there were no inclines in the area that we practiced in.  I could envision her going down hill at top speed.

Both tried with the poles and without.  Both did best without.  I had to rescue the younger one a couple of times because she seemed to think that she knew what she was doing and was trying to race back to the parking lot.  When she was on the ground, she would get her skis crossed over each other and be in quite the predicament.  The older of the two, took her time and little steps.  She didn't fall down once!

When the wind picked up, we decided to have our winter picnic in the truck.  By the time we were done, it hadn't let up so we headed back to the house.  It was probably a good thing that we did go back.  The deer showed up shortly after we returned.

What fun the girls had watching them.  Both sat on the window seat in my room.  They counted how many deer were in the yard.  They noticed that there were two big ones and three little ones.

As the deer made their rounds, the girls commented on which ones could reach the feeders and which could not.  The deer noticed the girls in the window but were not frightened off.

Besides seeing the backyard deer, the squirrel put on a show by trying to climb up the metal hook holding the bird feeder.  It was hanging upside down while eating sunflower seeds.  When it lost its grip and fell into the snow, Wren laughed so hard that I thought she would fall off her chair.

There are so many opportunities where I live for the girls to see and do things that they may not get to do close to their home.  They remembered our summer and fall outings; leaf walks, watching the bison at Elk Island and looking for the snakes in my yard.  When I drove into the parking lot this afternoon to try out the skis, Elora remembered that it was by the lake where we had a picnic.  What a memory that little trooper has and what fun Gramma has when the girls come to visit!