Day Fifty: No Two Alike

The subject of today's photo is a shadow. This unique shadow belongs to a snowflake that flew all the way from Oregon over a year ago.

Bend, Oregon is home to my niece Kyra, who I believe designed this particular paper snowflake, though it could have been her mom - they are both creative!

I'm a big fan of snowy weather, and a winter just doesn't seem complete without a substantial snowfall. Those are hard to come by in Lawrence (and when we get one, it usually shuts the city down), so I enjoy traveling to Minnesota, Wisconsin, Colorado, or Oregon to get winter snow fix.

Though ice-skating and downhill skiing have long been my favorite winter activities (not including inciting riotous snowball fights and building ridiculously large sledding jumps), I picked up snowboarding two years ago on a trip to Salida, CO.

I quickly refined my skills (translation: learned how not to fall on my rear), and with a few pointers from another of my nieces, Bailey (an avid snowboarder), I added another activity to my list of winter favorites.

On my last trip out to Oregon I was able to practice my snowboarding technique on the slopes of Mt. Bachelor (in white-out conditions!). It's hard to believe that an entire year has passed since this snowflake first landed in Kansas. I still keep it hanging in my room as a year-round reminder of family and winter fun.