How can I use up/reuse snow?
Teehee, a bit of a silly one – the white stuff does have a tendency to bring out the excitable child in me but it’s kinda valid too…
For the last few days, we’ve a few inches of snow – as much as most of the UK ever gets really but since I grew up on a largely snow-free warm coast, I’m making the most of what we’ve got. It is, of course, an excellent entertainment source – snowballs, snowmen… I’ve also been watching it fall with lovestruck eyes, crunching about on it outside with glee and *repeatedly* commenting on how wonderful everywhere looks. Many many hours of free entertainment.
But what else is it good for? In rain-strapped places, it would probably be worth scooping it up from snow banks and putting it in a water barrel for its water content. You can also take advantage of its coolness – I remember when we were discussing saving energy someone said they pre-freeze items outside before putting them in the freezer, or turn their freezer off entirely, just using the big blue room and an insulator ice box for freezing stuff for a few days. Of course snow itself is a good insulator – is it possible to make a reverse hay box for freezing stuff and keeping it frozen?
Any other suggestions?
In my neck of the woods, snow used to be called ‘poor man’s fertilizer’ and tilled into the soil whenever possible, but I don’t know how true that still is. I imagine that if you have a spot that’s shady all day long, at least in the winter, the snow will last quite a while and could be used as a fridge (not quite cold enough to be a freezer unless the outside temps are well below freezing).
We used to make snow ice cream when I was a kid. We added sugar, milk and beaten eggs. But that was in the 1950’s and really we shouldn’t have eaten it at all as we lived in New Mexico during the H-Bomb testing. Gosh it was good, though!
I always look forward to snow because then I can make snow cones! Its best to do this right after it falls so you can get the fresh snow off the top. Make a snowball and put it in a bowl. I use strawberry Torani syrup for my flavoring and put that on top! It is delicious!
Send all snow to me! :D
In the spirit of “giving” for the holidays, I think you should use old cardboard boxes (that were going to be recycled) fill them with snow, and take them to the closest thrift center. This way you’re helping the needy by supplying them with supplies to make water, snowball ice cream and perhaps an igloo to call home.
A normal hay box will keep things cool as well as warm, they’re just very well insulated.
You could put snow in a haybox to make it last longer – save some for later when everyone else has run out!