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| Winter sun |
Then: March 2008
March, and Spring is on the way. Of course there is no way to tell that from Up Here. On the 3rd we get three more inches of snow, and 10" the day after that! At this point, we have received more snow than we did all of January. Lots of snowblowing and shoveling. We take MAX down to groom the road and it is a real workout for Dinga in all the deep, new snow.
I have been perusing the Lehman's catalog and finally decide to order their double wash tubs, wringer and pressure handwasher. Certainly will be better than a 5 gallon bucket. I figured if it arrived by the end of March, we might even be able to bring it all up in the car. There's that laughing again. . .
Since we finished wiring the loft, I can now get my crafting nook all organized. In Illinois I had started my own little crafting business, making greeting cards, polymer clay jewelry and wall plaques. I sold them at various craft fairs and Farmers' Markets, and had a lot of fun both making and selling. Not sure I will do that again, but I still enjoy creating different items. Christmas and birthday gifts are all handmade, much to some of my family's chagrin, I'm sure. But there is so much one can do Up Here with pine cones, dried flowers and grass, and bark.
We had an arctic blast due on the 10th and it is -9 in the morning when we get up. Our nephew from Seattle will be coming up on the 14th for the weekend. He's quite the outdoors man and really enjoys the snow. Unfortunately there's not much of it on the other side of the mountains. JB meets him at the gate and brings him up on MAX, which is great fun in itself. We have a really nice visit, but he has to leave earlier than expected on Sunday as the weather radio states that all the snow and ice is creating a lot of problems getting over the passes.
The wash tubs and all had arrived the next time JB goes to town, and he is able to bring them up quite easily on the back of MAX. We set it all up. Try out the little hand washer. And, Viola! I am able to do the laundry much more easily and quickly. Never thought I'd be so excited about getting wash tubs.
By the 18th we have a 40 degree day, and it is beginning to smell like Spring. On the night of the 20th, the first day of Spring, it is the first time it doesn't freeze. Still snow on the ground, but we can get back to cutting wood. It is quite nice through the 27th and we are sure that Winter is waning. But on the 28th we wake up to snow and fog, with a high of the day of 33. By the last day of the month, we get out some chairs to sit on the porch in the sun and 41 degrees. Typical March weather.
Now: June 29, 2011
JB went to town yesterday, as planned. I just did easy little chores around the house and yard. The two wrens are still hard at work feeding their babies, but I am pretty much taking the day off. RJ and Mike should be arriving at their cabin tomorrow, with the rest of the clan arriving Saturday. Today I am going to town to get all the food for the weekend. Will take my raincoat, as we are supposed to get thunder showers, although I don't see a cloud in the sky right now.
After three years up here, we tend to think of rattle snakes as just a part of life. It is easy to forget that most people have never seen one or even want to. When JB's brother came Up Here in August 2008 to retrieve his camper trailer I had been using, he brought two of his sons. We always tell Summer visitors to be sure and stay on the paths and road while up here, and not to go hiking through the brush. We were walking down the road when we spotted a rattle snake crossing it. By then it was a simple reflex to pull out my pistol and shoot it. Well, the boys (middle school and high school age) had never seen a rattle snake, let alone shot a gun. Right then and there, they gleefully bestowed upon me my BA degree - Bad Ass! Hmmm, never thought of myself like that.
March, and Spring is on the way. Of course there is no way to tell that from Up Here. On the 3rd we get three more inches of snow, and 10" the day after that! At this point, we have received more snow than we did all of January. Lots of snowblowing and shoveling. We take MAX down to groom the road and it is a real workout for Dinga in all the deep, new snow.
I have been perusing the Lehman's catalog and finally decide to order their double wash tubs, wringer and pressure handwasher. Certainly will be better than a 5 gallon bucket. I figured if it arrived by the end of March, we might even be able to bring it all up in the car. There's that laughing again. . .
Since we finished wiring the loft, I can now get my crafting nook all organized. In Illinois I had started my own little crafting business, making greeting cards, polymer clay jewelry and wall plaques. I sold them at various craft fairs and Farmers' Markets, and had a lot of fun both making and selling. Not sure I will do that again, but I still enjoy creating different items. Christmas and birthday gifts are all handmade, much to some of my family's chagrin, I'm sure. But there is so much one can do Up Here with pine cones, dried flowers and grass, and bark.
We had an arctic blast due on the 10th and it is -9 in the morning when we get up. Our nephew from Seattle will be coming up on the 14th for the weekend. He's quite the outdoors man and really enjoys the snow. Unfortunately there's not much of it on the other side of the mountains. JB meets him at the gate and brings him up on MAX, which is great fun in itself. We have a really nice visit, but he has to leave earlier than expected on Sunday as the weather radio states that all the snow and ice is creating a lot of problems getting over the passes.
The wash tubs and all had arrived the next time JB goes to town, and he is able to bring them up quite easily on the back of MAX. We set it all up. Try out the little hand washer. And, Viola! I am able to do the laundry much more easily and quickly. Never thought I'd be so excited about getting wash tubs.
By the 18th we have a 40 degree day, and it is beginning to smell like Spring. On the night of the 20th, the first day of Spring, it is the first time it doesn't freeze. Still snow on the ground, but we can get back to cutting wood. It is quite nice through the 27th and we are sure that Winter is waning. But on the 28th we wake up to snow and fog, with a high of the day of 33. By the last day of the month, we get out some chairs to sit on the porch in the sun and 41 degrees. Typical March weather.
Now: June 29, 2011
JB went to town yesterday, as planned. I just did easy little chores around the house and yard. The two wrens are still hard at work feeding their babies, but I am pretty much taking the day off. RJ and Mike should be arriving at their cabin tomorrow, with the rest of the clan arriving Saturday. Today I am going to town to get all the food for the weekend. Will take my raincoat, as we are supposed to get thunder showers, although I don't see a cloud in the sky right now.
After three years up here, we tend to think of rattle snakes as just a part of life. It is easy to forget that most people have never seen one or even want to. When JB's brother came Up Here in August 2008 to retrieve his camper trailer I had been using, he brought two of his sons. We always tell Summer visitors to be sure and stay on the paths and road while up here, and not to go hiking through the brush. We were walking down the road when we spotted a rattle snake crossing it. By then it was a simple reflex to pull out my pistol and shoot it. Well, the boys (middle school and high school age) had never seen a rattle snake, let alone shot a gun. Right then and there, they gleefully bestowed upon me my BA degree - Bad Ass! Hmmm, never thought of myself like that.
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