March 21, 2018 Finally - Spring!

The receding snow in
the grove.

A wildflower popping up
on the south ridge -
bear grass?

Monday 3/18. I was on my way Down There in Miss Kitty by 8:45 am on another beautiful, Spring-like day.  So much warmer in town, I took my coat off and took my time.  I filled JB's Jeep Wrangler up with everything on my list and more, and was afraid I might have to make two trips up the mountain in Miss Kitty, but I got it all to fit perfectly.  One more item and I might have been out of luck.  Also had a nice chat with Elsie.

Even with no rushing, I was home by 1:30 pm.  Took a while to unload and put everything away.  Not only do we put the groceries away, we have to add most of them to the pantry list

Our high for the day Up Here was 48, but I am sure it was at least ten degrees warmer Down There.

Tuesday 3/20. The first day of Spring began with 28 and clear skies, and what a delightful day it was, with a high again of 48.  The edges of the snow are receding more each day, just not as quickly as I would like.  The seasons always seem to arrive in person before they do on the calendar, especially Fall and Winter.  Spring usually hesitates until the last week before the equinox, and summer can be the same way with its solstice, but Fall often arrives three weeks before the calendar indicates it will, and Up Here Winter barges in four to six weeks early.

I enjoyed reading a newspaper with my coffee this morning, then jumped into doing the laundry and dishes.  After lunch, I went out on the east slope to begin the Spring project of collecting downed branches for kindling before they disappear into the grass.  I put them in piles for now, and will bring them down when the snow is all gone.

I realize that I write about the weather so much each day, but it really does define our life Up Here.  There are no paved roads cleared by town or county vehicles.  There are no stores or neighbors close by.  Just about everything we do depends upon the right weather for it.

Wednesday 3/21. It is 32 and mostly cloudy this morning with wind and rain in the forecast for this afternoon and tomorrow.

Thought for the day: Not only is the universe stranger than we think, it is stranger than we can think. Werner Heisenberg