March 5, 2012

A glimpse of the Cascade Mountains
zoomed in from Rose Camp

Sunday disguised itself as the first day of Spring.  A real teaser.  Blue skies and 44 degrees.  A warm wind melting the snow.  Birds darting about.  No fire needed in the wood stove.  Opened the windows and let in the fresh mountain air.

Each season has equal time on the calendar, but Spring and Autumn seem to flitter by so much more quickly than winter and summer.  Up Here winter lasts from mid-October into April.  We often have snow for five months out of the year.  That's no problem for me as I prefer the cool weather to the hot.  And even though Spring brings mud season, it also brings all sorts of new life and colors.  Both in flora and fauna.  I always look forward to Spring and Autumn, but I am also pleased with the arrival of Winter.  Summer, not so much.

I spent time outside with the dogs in my overalls and just a light jacket.  We hiked about on the east ridge and I picked up some branches that had fallen.  There were no rabbit or deer tracks since the heavy snow Tuesday night.  I think the deer are down in the canyon right now.  Don't know about the rabbits.  And I think the cougar has moved on.  The only wildlife on the game cam for the past week were the dogs and JB.  It only picked up the headlights of Larry and Elsie's ATV as they came and went in the dark.

I have started a new page for food recipes and will be posting some of our favorite dishes on it.  For Sunday dinner I made bourbon sweet potatoes with orange marmalade chicken, so the first recipe is for the bourbon potatoes.  The chicken dish doesn't really have a recipe.  Just pour olive oil in a pan and add the chicken breasts.  Cover chicken in orange marmalade and bake in the oven (375 for 40 minutes).

Thought for the day:  We don't see things as they are, but as we are.   Anais Nin