After yesterday’s dumping of snow over Washington, D.C. many schools and businesses, including my employer, declared a snow day. Yahoo!

I fuel up on espresso, throw on my Gore-Tex Salomons, and hit the road.

Snow days allow me to be a tourist in my own city. This “found time” frees me, and I can pad about on my own schedule.

My feet dip steadily in and out of snow and over patches of plowed sidewalk and road.

As I step I can tell by the snow’s slightly sticky and heavy feel that it is ideal for building snowmen.

I aim my toes toward the National Mall to see who has been there and what treasure they have left behind.

Despite the gray day and the light rain falling, people are out.

And as I hoped, snowmen are distributed all around the Mall’s expanse.

Some of the artists decided to go the basic three-snowball snowman route.

Actually that’s a pretty popular style. Traditional!

I see one with a carrot nose.

Several have faces and limbs crafted from brambles and whatever supplies were available nearby.

Others have faces etched into them.

I’m impressed by how expressive so many of them are.

Some are not snowmen.

The most elaborate treasure I see is not a snowman. It’s this snowy replica of the U.S. Capitol that two people created.

I take a photo of them sculpting and shaping. They use brushes. Overachievers!

I continue on my exploration and loop back after swinging past the Capitol in order to examine their final product.

Wow! All who pass stop to see the U.S. Capitol in snow. We wonder to each other how long it will last.

It’s made of snow. It isn’t meant to last. None of this will last, and that’s why we revel in the fleeting beauty of this snow day.