Jan 7, 2012 Longer Days!




Jesse, in his coat, and Dinga
 on the north ridge

 


Our road on our monday morning ride


















Friday morning was 7 and overcast, but the clouds parted mid morning, at least Up Here.  Valley fog Down There.  A good day to finally dig out and clean off the tipi, a chore that was long overdue.  There was 8" to 10" of snow covering it all the way to the top!  Much more than we thought, and almost 2' of snow around the bottom.  The dogs were having great fun and Dinga found a mouse-cicle.  But from the way Jesse was acting, I think she took it from him.

On our way up to the south ridge on our afternoon walk, we discovered that the sun was just above the west end of the ridge, and not already below as it has been that time of day for the past month or so.  Got some great shots of it.  Seems odd that after the winter solstice the days get longer in the afternoon first.  Sunset comes later before sunrise comes earlier.  However it happens, it is most welcome.

We had 12 degrees and fog Saturday morning.  It started snowing about noon and warmed up to 20.  Got another inch.  Had to cut back on the fire in the wood stove.

Enjoyed the last of the eggnog in my morning coffee and took down the last of the Christmas decorations.  Twelfth night, which is when we always took everything down when I was growing up.

Layers of snow and rime have been building up on the tree branches since before Christmas.  I was thinking that if we get any sort of wind, I'm sure a lot of them will break.  And, sure enough, a strong breeze sprang up a little after 3:00 am Sunday morning.  I could hear the snow falling off the trees near the house, but no branches breaking.

Sunday was much warmer, 19 with mountain sun and valley fog.  The clouds moved in by mid afternoon and left only patches of blue sky.

After breakfast, we bundled up and took a ride in MAX to the main canyon road and down aways to the big S-curve.  A beautiful and envigorating drive.  Jesse decided enough was enough and rode all the way back home.  Something Dinga would never even consider.

Back home, we ate lunch and washed the dishes.  Then JB took a nap and I read more of the Dresden Files book that he gave me for Christmas, Ghost Story.  I finished it just before dinner and absolutely loved it!  JB is on the second book in the series and is definitely hooked.

The breeze continued off and on most of the day.  With sporadic sun and a high of 25, the snow also started to melt off the trees and drip off the south side of the roof.  A few weeks ago about 1/3 of the snow and ice on the north side of the roof plunged off with a horrendous roar.  But it has been so cold since then that it is just continuing to build up.  Good thing the county requires roofs Up Here to have a 100 lb.-per-square-foot snow load.

We're not getting many wasps inside this winter so far.  Maybe one every two or three days.  Certainly not five or six every day like the first couple years.

I so enjoy receiving Christmas cards, many from friends and family that I should be communicating with more than once a year.  I write my blog and tend to think that I am reaching everyone, but I'm not and it is not exactly personal.  OK, fine.  A belated resolution: write more letters.  E-mail is great, but, believe it or not, not everyone I know is on the internet.  And I really enjoy receiving snail-mail, so I am sure others do too.

Thought for the day:  Time magazine made Obama their Person of the Year, but keep in mind that Stalin made Person of the Year TWICE.  As Time itself states, "It is not a prize, per se."