Happy Valentine's Week

Not bad focus, just blowing snow

Happy Valentine's Day--Abraham Lincoln's Birthday--Martin Luther King's Birthday!  The picture of the mountains "pinkening" in the early morning as the sun rises seems like a good symbol for the week.  We hope you have had some fine celebrations wherever you are.

Now the plowing is all mine.  No pictures from the first day, as I was sweating bullets and trying hard not to do anything horrible to:  the Jeep, the plow, or the road.  Honestly, I did get stuck a couple of times and was able to maneuver out of my messes…no harm, no foul.  After two hours I returned home safe and sound.  I laughed to myself as I drove our Jeep over to Lee and Mare's…switching for theirs with a plow.  When we left for Uganda and Rwanda last August, the weather was warm and I had anticipated a good deal more of that when we returned.  No rush to put the top on the Jeep.  We returned to the flood and all of its disaster, and putting the top on our Jeep was certainly not on my radar.  With the wind blowing and snow everywhere, I had a whimsical ride to Lee and Mare's, topless!  Fortunately it only takes about 4 minutes to get there.  Mountain Fun.

At the beginning of the week, the temperatures were still very cold.  The birds have discovered that there is food here, and we have been visited by several of our favorite species, I even spotted a robin in the bushes below the house. One morning while I was refilling the tube feeder, I looked down and discovered that the deer were browsing in the spilled seeds.  There is always a lot of seed on the ground as the bigger birds, especially Stellar Jays and Clark's Nutcracker are notorious pigs, gobbling mouths full and spraying seed everywhere.

By Tuesday, the wind really kicked up.  That night, to celebrate birthdays for Lee and me, Pam cooked a wonderful dinner.  We had roasted potatoes and carrots coated in corn meal and parmesan cheese,  fillets done in a pan with a wonderful red wine sauce--all finished in butter, and cheese cake for dessert.  Our actual birthdays were on Wednesday, but Thursday was to be a traveling day for L & M, so we thought to drink and celebrate the night before.  The next day, Wednesday I made a batch of chicken soup and we slurped and laughed as the wind really began to roar outside.  At 3:00 am Thursday, Lee and Mare left for 6 weeks in Florida.

Plowing the drifting, sifting snow got tricky as the temperatures rose to 35, 39, and up into the 40's.  Snow melted in the day, froze in the night, and was a clumped and clotted nightmare to plow in the morning.  As I was coming out Friday morning, I found our neighbor in his red Arctic Cat ATV at the top of our driveway--his left front wheel canted at about a 45 degree angle.  "These snow chunks are hard to get through.  I think I'm in a bit of trouble here."  We managed to get the plow off and stashed in our drive, and as Brad backed up, the wheel "healed itself" enough to drive home.  Later on he was able to fix it and Big Red is back on the job.

After a Valentine's celebration at home, we met a friend for coffee in town and had a great catch up.  Afterwards, Pam, Lucy and I drove into the Park, only to find the wind was blowing a gale there as well (yes, we've been sleeping downstairs). We got out for a short walk on Upper Beaver Meadows road--the only place dogs can walk in the Park.  Lucy was delighted to be out--rolling in the snow, running and chasing as far as her leash would allow, and sniffing everything she could.  After the walk, we drove up to Bear Lake where we work in the summer.  It always amazes us how many people hike, ski, snowshoe out of Bear at any time of year.  Today was no exception.  We put on our cleats and walked out to the lake--frozen and blowing.  There have been 75 inches of snow at Bear, the pictures are testimony.

Now, with the wind still blowing a gale sporadically, and temperatures in the 40's, we are snug in our mountain home.  There is a bit of plowing to do, books to finish, and more Olympic competitions on the horizon.  A big shout out to Jason Brown!  No medal, but he has certainly won hearts all over the world.  And so it goes…have a good week.  Check back again for more mountain adventures.  We think of our friends and family always and wish you a good week.

Here is the link to pictures from the week.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/mtnpostpics/12529561554/in/set-72157640987153305