Snowy Day Story

[Aliza Pointon]

Myall time favorite poem is Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening by Robert Frost. As part of a writing exercise for the Creative Writers Workshop, I turned the poem into a short story. Here are both for your reading pleasure.

The animated version may be synonymous with Christmas (and one of the rare things that will make BB sit silent and still for 15 minutes), but the original picture book bares no trace of the festive season at all.

Inevitably, after a magical night of soaring through the skies, the pair have to part. The ending gets you every time but is a wonderful way to introduce children as young as two to the concept of loss and the value of happy memories. Available from Amazon

This first English book by French author-illustrator Gourounas is both deliciously deadpan and coolly designed, with each page building up anticipation of a punchline that will make tiny readers chuckle. Available from Amazon

The first tale in the classic Percy the Park Keeper series is 30 years old now and the perfect introduction to this genial character. In this heartwarming story, Percy ends up sharing his hut with a full cast of animal characters as each one knocks on his door asking for help to escape the dark and cold.

This beautiful book tells the story of that most Christmassy of birds, the robin. The hardy little creature sees the leaves starting to fall and wonders why his friends are making preparations for something scary called winter.

But when it arrives and the countryside is coated with snow, he realises what a magical season it is. A touching and gentle story that features wonderful animal illustrations and gorgeous collage effects. Available from Amazon

Based on a true story on a Snowy Owl discovered in a building in Portland, Maine, A Snowy Owl Story describes, through the adventures of one particular owl, the recent irruption of Snowy Owls all across the United States. Youngsters will learn about migration, adaptation, and respectful human interaction with nature.

One winter, as food gets scarce, a snowy owl finds himself forced to look in new and unfamiliar spots in order to find food and a place to call home. Based on a true story, A Snowy Owl Story describes, through the tale of one particular owl, the recent irruption of snowy owls all across the United States. Through this simple narrative, youngsters will learn about migration, adaptation, and respectful human interaction with nature. This unique title (first in a projected series of four board books) is written and designed specifically for a preschool market; few board books exist that tell conservation stories for this age range. Published in cooperation with Maine Audubon.

Audubon Florida's Coastal Conservation team operates throughout the state. They are - in many ways - the eyes and ears of our shores. Please take a moment to enjoy this interesting story from Audubon's Marvin Friel in the Panhandle:

Yesterday evening, just before dusk, we rushed down to Windmark Beach (a mainland beach located in Gulf County near Port. St. Joe). What we were looking for as the sun was quickly setting was a uniquely banded Snowy Plover - a Snowy Plover whose haunts and habitat are known only to Audubon's research team and a few locals like Barbara Eells, a longtime bird rehabilitator, volunteer and snowy plover enthusiast.

On November 3, while conducting our scheduled winter shorebird surveys at SJPSP, WL:RS was observed at the park still coddling his right leg. After he was captured and in hand, we discovered that WL:RS had a small piece of shell debris lodged between his service band and leg. The shell debris was causing discomfort and inflammation.

With delicate and deliberate hands, we removed the service band and dislodged the shell debris. Almost immediately, WL:RS, appeared relieved. Because he was missing one of his color bands, we wanted to confirm his identity and upon scrutiny of his metal leg band, we were able to do so by confirming the 9 digit code engraved on his aluminum Federal Service band.

Recognizing that he would likely recover from his injury, we replaced his missing lime band with a green band and replaced his old faded service band (now difficult to read) with a new one. To allow the injured leg to heal without further harm, we changed the location of his bands to the upper right leg instead of the lower right leg. All this was to ensure recovery of the leg in the short-term, but in the long-term it would allow researchers and volunteers like Barbara to continue monitoring him in the years to come.

Despite weather events, tropical storms, increases in recreational pressures and the numerous native and non-native predators present on our beaches (such as coyotes, ghost crabs, raccoons, fish crows or gulls), WL:RS is still cruising the shoreline looking for that next mouthwatering amphipod. Of herculean note, the extensive data collected on WL:RS has demonstrated that he has produced at least four generations of Snowy Plovers that span the panhandle beaches from SJPSP to Tyndall Air Force Base (an FWC Critical Wildlife Area) to Dog Island (land managed by The Nature Conservancy). Remarkably, one of the chicks he fathered holds the winter migration record, for plovers banded in the Florida panhandle; wintering down at Marco Island, Florida.

So yesterday evening was a success story! Hopefully WL:RS, (now White Green: Red Service on upper leg) will continue to inspire all of the beach-nesting monitoring efforts. Snowy Plovers like WL:RS are the true Florida beach bum, they are here to be enjoyed and respected as a Florida native to our coastal beaches, like sea turtles and beach mice. Each individually banded plover has a unique story to share that ultimately shows their biological resilience in their native habitat.

In 1972 a small plane crashed in the Andes mountains of Argentina carrying a rugby team and their friends and family due to an inexperienced co-pilot. Out of the 45 passengers and crew aboard, 8 died instantly from the crash and many more soon after from their injuries or the cold temperatures. At 11,710 ft they were pretty high up there in the mountains.

They were finally rescued when the weather cleared up and two survivors climbed a 15,260 ft mountain peak for 10 days without gear and traveled 38 miles until they found help. They then were able to send a rescue crew to the crash site and 16 other survivors were rescued. Their amazing story went on to produce multiple books, movies, and songs.

A man named Enrique Platero had a piece of metal stuck in his abdomen. When it was removed it brought out a couple inches of intestine with it. He was actually recovering well though he later died in an avalanche.

They were able to obtain water in freezing conditions by using a piece of sheet metal that was under the seats and placing it out in the snow. They would sprinkle some snow on top and the solar radiation would heat up the metal enough to melt the snow.

They found a small radio in the wreckage and improvised a long antenna using electrical cable from the plane. They heard the disheartening news that their search and rescue was called off after the 11th day. That would have been horrible for moral but would give valuable intel to not just stay put and you have to do something about your rescue.

There was very little food on the plane that only lasted a week after extreme rationing. No natural vegetation or animals lived at that altitude either. They tried eating the cotton insides the seats and leather but got sick from eating those.

Those still alive knew that search and rescue had been called off and that they would eventually die from starvation. They all agreed that the others could consume their bodies if they died. This was a very hard decision as they would be consuming the bodies of their dead relatives, and close friends.

Still, some refused or could not keep down the human meat. They dried the meat in the sun and it made it more palatable. They initially were so revolted by the experience that they only could eat skin, muscle, and fat, but as the supply diminished they resulted in eating heart, lungs, and brains.

17 days after the crash, an avalanche struck the aircraft while they slept killing eight more people including the team captain who had been the leader. This was even more discouraging for them. They were buried inside the aircraft under 3 feet of snow and used a metal pole from the luggage rack to poke out a ventilation hole once air was running out. They dug out the next morning to find themselves in a horrible blizzard and decided that they had to go back down into the buried plane for shelter.

They realized that they needed to climb the peak to find help and improvised a sleeping bag out of insulation, copper wire, and waterproof fabric from the air conditioning. One man had been taught to sew as a child and used a sewing kit found in the wreckage. He taught three others how to sew and they took turns making the sleeping bag.

During the expedition to find help, they wore three pairs of jeans and three sweaters, and four pairs of socks rapped in plastic shopping bags. The thin oxygen and softened spring snow making them sink down to their hips made the trek hard.

To celebrate the top checkout, all 92 New York Public Library locations are offering a special, limited-edition The Snowy Day library card beginning today (existing cardholders can move their accounts to the new card for a $1 donation). And a special edition MTA MetroCard will be available this week in the following 10 stations across the five boroughs:

Anniversary Week Celebrations: The Library will host parties in its branches and hold a weekend celebration from May 10 to May 17 to celebrate the 125th anniversary. More information will soon be available at nypl.org/125, but highlights of the celebration include:

Babies take the 42nd Street Library on Friday, May 15 for the second annual Big Playdate for kids 0-4 and their caregivers. The event celebrates the power of play with sensory activities, constructive play, and other activities that strengthen important early literacy skills.

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