Mar 25, 2013 Snits & MAX



Sunset on Friday


Friday, 3/22.  Did a thorough vacuuming after lunch.  It was sunny when I started and just beginning to snow as I finished, not that it took me that long.  Then we had flurries off and on for the rest of the day and a high of 26.

Aunt Nene e-mailed me that in all her 87 years, she had never heard of snow mold, so when friends came over for dinner they looked it up.  It seems that there are two kinds - grey and pink.  Pink is the worst.  I have only seen grey Up Here, thank goodness.

JB looked at MAX again and it seems as though there may be a broken axel on the middle wheel that is causing the chain tensioner to slip down.  If so, it looks like a big job just to get to the axle.  Oh well, it will keep us busy and out of trouble.  The good news is that we will probably be able to travel our road with the Jeep now.

Having read five Robert B. Parker books in a row, I started a new (to me) Harry Bosch novel, Angels Flight, by Michael Connelly.  I am a big Harry Bosch fan.

Pizza night - ham and pineapple - after which we watched "Heat" with Al Pacino and Robert De Niro.  Haven't seen it for years and it is just as good as ever.

Saturday, 3/23.  Began with a light overcast and 16 degrees.  The sun shone on us most of the day, while snow flurries drifted by to the south, occasionally send a few flakes our way.

We got an early start on MAX and found that the problem was indeed a broken axle.  The middle one.  The hardest one to get to.  We got MAX jacked up off the ground and took two tires and the track off, then it was time for lunch.  Before going in, I sat on my bench on the north ridge for my daily dose of awe.

Back to MAX after lunch, but we simply could not get the nut off the one bolt that would let us pull the axle out.  I tried, then stood around watching JB try, while getting frustrated and trying to work myself into a snit.  I used to be a world-class snit thrower, but find myself less and less able to do so the more I live Up Here.  When frustrated while living Down There, I could work myself into some pretty amazing snits.  Not any more.  Not Up Here.  So much awe makes for very little snits.

After admitting defeat for the day, we came in and I made baked chicken for dinner.  Larry and Elsie came up to visit, bringing fresh eggs.  Lots of talk of wolves and weddings.  Their son is getting married this spring, and there have been deer and elk carcasses found in the surrounding area that are obvious wolf kills.  After they left, we watched the last two episodes of "Game of Thrones."  OMG!  So very well done!

Sunday, 3/24.  Partly cloudy and 16.  Let the dogs out at 7:30 am and they went nuts, running from the west ridge and up the east slope, both barking.  Coyotes?  Turkeys?  Wolves?

This was not a day of rest.  JB fixed a big breakfast of eggs with ham, onions and parmesan along with bacon and toast, after which we did laundry and dishes.  Then JB and the dogs hiked down to the game cam for the card, but there were no interesting photos.

After lunch JB worked on MAX, but was unable to budge the nut.  It has probably been there for 20 years.  I baked cinnamon rolls, cleaned house a bit and hung the rest of the towels to dry.

The sun shone for most of the day and we had a high of 32.  The house got too warm and I had to open some windows.  We all walked down to the game cam to put the card back in.  The ice is finally starting to melt along most of the driveway, thank goodness.  Jesse took off after something along the west slope and got back a little late for dinner, which is unusual for him.

We had lasagne for dinner that JB had prepped Saturday evening.  His recipe calls for everything to be put together in the pan, then sit for 24 hours.  So all he had to do today was bake it.  

A week ago when JB when Down There on a friday, we had more than 100 wasps in the loft.  Not all at once, but there were at least 20 on the windows every time I went up.  Fortunately they are very sleepy and slow, so easy to kill.  At one point, I just opened the door and shooed some out.  Since then we have only had a few a day.

After watching the sun's yearly journey from Up Here for almost five years, I know the exact points where it will be setting on the winter and summer solstice, and the fall and spring equinox.  It doesn't seem to make this journey at the same speed, but seems to speed up and slow down at times.  Probably caused by the curvature of the earth.

Monday, 3/25.  It is 18 and clear this morning.  The mountains are brilliant in their snowy garments.  JB is going Down There tomorrow.  He will have to walk the 1-3/4 miles to his Jeep, and then hopefully be able to drive it all the back on his way home.

Thought for the day:  Clouds come floating into my life, no longer to carry rain or usher storm, but to add color to my sunset sky.  Rabindranath Tagore