Oct 22, 2012 Snow!



RJ's cabin




Rainbow Friday afternoon














Our high temperature for yesterday was 33 and Saturday was barely 40.  Saw a few snowflakes each day and lots of them obviously fell on the mountains.  The snow did finally reach us during last night.  We woke up to about 1/2" and it is still coming down.  Snowfall is predicted for every day this week at our altitude.  As I write, JB is getting dressed to go clean off the solar panels.  I was planning to go Down There twice this week, but will try to do all the laundry and shopping in one trip.  Question is - which day.

Friday I was up with the dogs at 6:00 am and just stayed up.  Haven't done that in a long time.  By lunch I had split and stacked five loads of wood, which finished the outside row on the south end of the porch and started the inside row on the north end.  After lunch I split and stacked another four loads before my hands gave out.  JB helped me with the last load, and that finished the inside north row.

It was very windy on Friday but not really cold.  I had planned to finish splitting the last six rounds on Saturday, but the wind turned icy cold so it was really an inside day.  We washed the dishes and after lunch I drove down to see what RJ had been doing on his cabin since he got back Up Here on Thursday.  Wow!  The windows are in the front and he was laying the slate on the floor where another wood stove will sit.  He's going to pick up the stove today and ask Larry to help him get it into the cabin.

RJ came to breakfast on Sunday and we chatted til almost lunch time.  The wind had finally blown itself out, but it was still too cold for the splitter.  So JB split two large rounds by hand, and I stacked them on the porch.  Then he went in for a well-deserved nap and I puttered around outside.  Gathered one more sack of pine needles and made sure my basket inside was full.  Brought fire wood in and made sure everything was wrapped up for possible snow last night.

I have been thinking about the forest fires alot lately.  We can see a few spots still smoldering every day from the south ridge.  A person cannot go through such an experience and come out the other end the same as they were going in.  But I am not sure just how I am different.  More sure of myself living Up Here, perhaps.  Knowing that now we are better prepared and having actually experienced the threat of fire.

And, speaking of threats, if the sh*t ever does hit the fan, whether thrown by either Mother Nature or man, our friends and family know that they are welcome Up Here ONLY if they bring their own food, supplies and at least a temporary shelter.  RJ came back up last night and stayed til 10:30 talking about our situation in relation to the rest of the world.  It never ceases to amaze us how many people Down There do not have even a month's supply of food stored up.  Especially with all the former Boy Scouts out there and all the current hype on being prepared for a major natural disaster, since there have been so many of them in the past several years.  I remember talking to a relative about this scenario a few years ago, and asked if he had ammo and a reliable firearm.  He said he did, but since he lived in a suburban area there wouldn't be much to hunt.  I replied, "Oh, Honey.  That gun isn't for hunting.  It's for protecting your family and food."  No, I do not consider myself a "survivalist."  Just practical with a little common sense thrown in.

Thought for the day:  The American people will never knowingly adopt socialism.  But, under the name of "Liberalism" they will adopt every fragment of the socialist program until one day America will be a socialist nation, without knowing how it happened. . . I no longer need to run as a Presidential candidate for the socialist party.  The Democratic party has adopted our platform.  Norman Thomas, 1944