March 11, 2016 Snow & Turkeys

Fence railings that have been
broken by the snow.

Turkey tracks near the wood
shed Thursday morning.

Wednesday 3/9. We could see the snow moving our way and I noticed that it had finally arrived a little after 11:00 am as I was hanging up the laundry inside.  Snow, not the predicted rain, although Larry said it was pouring in town all day.

A good day for reading, so I started a Nicholas Sparks book, Dear John.  I really enjoy his books, but I have to be in the right mood and I think it was Downton Abbey that got me there.  JB continued working on his computer and reading bills that are in both the Washington state and federal legislature that will affect our state.

I baked a banana-chocolate chip coffee cake, as the muffins JB baked are already disappearing fast.

By the time I went out to feed the girls their corn and look for eggs at 3:00 pm, we had received at least another inch or two of snow and one egg.  The snow continued to fall until after we went to bed at 10:00 pm.  Our high for the day was 32.

We watched the bonus features for Downton Abbey, and then watched the last episode one more time. 

Thursday 3/10. It was 36 and clear with 3-1/2" of new snow this morning.  I think the past two months finally caught up with me, emotionally.  But, by the same token, this morning was the first time that JB could walk without "the boot" or a cane, so all is well.

We have been hearing turkeys and grouse over the south ridge for a few weeks now, and on this morning's walk I saw turkey tracks in the snow just south of the wood shed.

The water in the cistern is almost to the top, so we used as much as we could today.  I washed the few dishes that were dirty, flushed the toilet each time we used it.  I also took a shower, and it isn't even Saturday. . .  It didn't seem to make much difference in the water level, and by the looks of the water in the jugs I fill each day, it is most likely a leak where the pipe comes in.  Fixing that will definitely be at the top of our list for summer projects.  I was going to use a hose attached the the hydrant to drain some of the water out, but the hydrant is frozen.

My spring cleaning project for today was cleaning out the linen closet.  It is amazing what I find in there each year.

Thank goodness we switch to daylight savings time this weekend, as I am pretty sure the dogs already have.  They want out at 4:00 am every morning now, instead of 5:00.  And at 2:30 pm, Jesse is looking at me like I forgot their afternoon walk which is at 3:30.

Nasty looking black clouds passed to the south of us for most of the day, although a few strayed our way and dropped a little sleet around 1:00 pm.  The wind picked up mid-afternoon, gusting to 21 mph, slowly blowing all the clouds off to the east, and we were back to mainly blue sky by sunset.  Our high for the day was 43, and the girls gave us one egg.

Friday 3/11. It is 28 and mostly cloudy this morning.  The avalanche canon on Mission Ridge is booming away.

Regarding the comment that JB's foot problem may be his gout acting up, we really doubt it as the pain is not that intense.  His foot was much better on Thursday, so hopefully it is healing.

Thought for the day: While democracy must have its organizations and controls, its vital breath is individual liberty.  Justice Charles Evans Hughes