Oct 17, 2012 Rain - and Snow!



Snow on Mission Ridge Tuesday morning



Real rain finally arrived Monday evening.  As it had over the weekend, sprinkles started around 3:30 pm, but this time they gradually became a downpour that lasted several hours.  The wind started up also, about ten hours earlier than it was forecast to begin 5:00 a.m. Tuesday.  And yesterday we discovered that our rain was actually snow on the mountain peaks and Mission Ridge.  Now there is snow in our forecast for the weekend.

We both went Down There on Monday driving both cars.  The aspen were almost blinding with their brilliance in the morning sun, and the road through them was right out of King Midas' realm - paved with golden leaves.  Dropped off my Jeep at the shop to have the valve gasket replaced.  Then we drove to Lowes and bought a top-loading washing machine that we will pick up today.  Did a little grocery shopping, and were home in time for me to split and stack three loads of wood on the porch, starting the outside south row.

The winds were very strong and just as noisy Monday night, so we didn't get much sleep.  Plus it started raining again in the early a.m.  The rain quit, but the wind kept up all day and into yesterday evening.  We ended up sleeping in til 9:00 am on Tuesday!  Felt so good.  Did the dishes and got the washer and dryer unhooked and out on the porch.  That was before we read the directions on storing the washer and getting all the water out. . .  Seems you have to put in RV antifreeze with a gallon of water, then run the washer through the last rinse cycle.  It was definitely going to freeze last night, so we had to move the washer back inside the great room and we will buy the antifreeze today when we are Down There.  We can move it out on the porch and plug it in to the shop generator to do the antifreeze bit.  We'll just put the machine's hose in a 5-gallon bucket.

Our first stop Down There today will be to check out the new Big Lots store.  Had those in Illinois and they are the best store to find great deals.  Then pick up my car.  Pick up the washer with the trailer we will bring down with BJ's Jeep.  A few more errands, and it's home to install our new washing machine.  Of course we need water to use it, so Thursday we will try the well pump again.  Larry and Elsie's spring is almost overflowing, so hopefully the water level has worked its way up to our well.

Dinga alerted us to six deer bounding across our south ridge yesterday morning.  Of course we didn't let the dogs out until the deer were out of sight.  We think it was "our herd" of does and fawns.

Now that the dust from the outside is gone, we will be generating our own dust inside with the wood stove.  It simply does not go away Up Here.  However, it is nice to have our coffee warmer back again.

As far as sleeping in later these days, I think it is just that I have finally acclimated to being retired, and have adopted the retiree's attitude: Don't want to.  Don't have to.  Can't make me.

Thought for the day: Man does not weave the web of life; he is merely a strand in it.  Whatever he does to the web, he does to himself.  Chief Seattle