February 15, 2016 Snow, Visitors & Wind

Interesting cloud formation
to the south.

Friday 2/12. Our paths were very crunchy today, but the snow level has fallen more than I realized.  The sign at the path to the north ridge is completely above the snow now, as is some of its post.

There was still a lot of snow on the wood shed roof that had slid down, so I shoveled as much as I could reach.  I could hear the header board begin to move back into place as the weight came off.

A breeze picked up around 1:00 pm and blew in a short rain squall which cleared out the fog.  By the time we left on our afternoon walk, we could see a little blue sky on the western horizon.  By 4:30 all the cloud cover had moved on to the east towards Idaho and Randy.  Our high for the day was 40.

Saturday 2/13. It was 32, clear and breezy first thing this morning, but clouds had moved in by noon.  I fed the dogs and girls, then went back to bed to get rid of a nasty sinus headache.

After lunch we went out to check the oil in the generator, and added some.  Then we took the ash bucket and kitchen compost to the outdoor compost pile.  I haven't been shoveling that path, so we both post-holed all the way.

Later in the afternoon I baked Rose's World Famous Gluton-Free Oatmeal/Chocolate Chip cookies.  They are literally "world famous" from when our neighbors had their friends from Austria Up Here and they loved the cookies.

Snow began falling at 3:00 pm and continued until around 8:00.  We only received about 1/4" and it was gone by morning.  During the evening, the breeze had increased to a wind gusting to 18 mph.  

We are both very sad to hear that Supreme Court Justice Scalia passed away today.  I'm not really paranoid, but I hope they do an autopsy. . .

Sunday 2/14. Valentine's Day on the mountain began with a temp of 36, overcast sky and wind gusting to 23 mph.  By noon the clouds began to part and the sun was able to shine most of the afternoon.  Our high for the day was 44.

Larry and Elsie drove up in the SnoCat this afternoon for a nice, long visit.  I should have no problem getting down and back up in MAX tomorrow.  Elsie brought up the Valentine's package from Nene.  My goodness!  That aunt of mine really does spoil us.  She sent a beautiful hand-made fleece pillow with elk, moose and bears on it, along with a chocolate moose pillow-pet.  And, of course, money for candy which I will spend tomorrow.

Monday 2/15. It is 40, mostly clear and windy this morning.  The wind blew all night, gusting to 41.  A very noisy and sleepless night.  The wind has pared the snow down significantly and littered it with pine cones and small branches.  And I am not looking forward to my drive Down There. . .

Thought for the day: We never said protests are the answer, but protests create space for the answer.  Protest is disruption.  Protest is confrontation. Protest is the end of silence, and what protest does is it creates space for the other work to happen. Deray McKesson

February 12, 2016 A Warming Trend With Rain

JB and the dogs on their
morning walk.

How the snow has weighted
down the roof of the wood shed.

Wednesday 2/10. Our frog is serenading us again.  It is so odd that he has been doing this off and on all winter long.  Just cracks me up every time I hear him.

This was a very domestic day for me: washing dishes, hanging laundry, baking bread.  Two loaves and four rolls that turned out excellent!  But then I had to dig out one of our ladders that was laying next to the house on the north side.  I could see it, but I still had to dig through three feet of snow and ice - mainly ice - to get it out.  The last big chunk of snow from the west peak of the roof slid off a couple days ago and took the cap off the air pipe to the toilet.  So after digging out the ladder, I had to lift it up on the deck so I could use it to climb up and put the cap back on.  Fortunately the pipe runs down through the wall, so it is just two feet in from the edge of the roof.

I am still doing all the physical work Up Here as I will not let JB doing anything he cannot do with one hand.  He over did it twice and paid the price.

In talking to Larry this evening, he is hopeful that he and Elsie will be able to drive up in the Snocat this weekend.  With the snow so heavy and wet, don't know how much he will be able to plow, but we should be able to get MAX, or possibly Miss Kitty, down to their place and my Jeep on Monday.

Our high for the day was 48, and it was still 40 when we checked at 10:00 pm.

Still watching and enjoying the eighth season of Bones.

Thursday 2/11. It was a warm 36 and overcast this morning.  A short rain squall passed through at about 9:00 am.  The sky remained heavily overcast and by 3:00 pm we had heavy rain that continued until after 7:00 pm.  Our high for the day was 40.

I finished a book by Dean Koontz today, The Good Guy.  So very good!  I love the way he writes, and always about incredible good against incredible evil.  Then I started one by John Connelly, The Black Angel.  Looks to be a dark one.

Things are really melting now, as the temp has not been down to freezing for about 48 hours.  I worked on shoveling off the roof of the wood shed, and all the snow left on it should be able to slide right off.  Also took off as much snow as I could reach from the recycle shed roof, which was only about a foot in.

The girls gave us an egg today, but it looked as though it had been stepped on before it completely hardened.  Had to throw it away.  That hurt.

Colder temps are forecast for the weekend.  If they arrive, everything will be a sheet of ice.

Friday 2/12. It is 34 and foggy this morning.  I thought all that rain would have made a bigger difference in the snow than it did.  It will be interesting to see how it is walking around in it.

Thought for the day: Too many folks go through life running from something that isn't after them.

February 10, 2016 Slowly Warming & Melting

A flannel sheet drying
out in the winter sun.

Monday 2/8. It was another beautiful day on the mountain with a high of 43.  The sun shone brightly and the snow is obviously, but slowly, melting.  So nice that I hung a couple sheets outside to dry.  Oh, I have missed that incredibly fresh smell!

I vacuumed today and sucked up only a little over one canister full of dirt and dog hair.  The very first time I used my new vacuum, I ended up with a full canister four times!  The second time, I ended up filling it a little over two times.  With the other two vacuums I have had Up Here, I must have been just taking off the top layer of the dirt and moving the rest around. . .

I shoveled snow off the battery and wood shed roofs to relieve them of some of the weight.  And, at the same time, take off some of my weight. . .

Tuesday 2/9. It was 30 and another beautiful morning.  Some of the stumps are beginning to re-appear, and we can actually see some small areas of ground on the south slope down from the south ridge.  I am sure it will be at least another month before we see any ground on our north slope where we live.  All the paths are at least six to 12 inches above the ground, and they will be the last areas to melt.

My shoveling project for today was the hen house/run roof.  Using the small shovel, I got quite a bit cleared off and it was not physically tiring.  I had to take my coat off because the sun was so warm.  Our high for the day was 48!

Since all the snow has melted off the porch, I have been putting a bed out there for Dinga during the day and she loves it.  Even when the temperature is in the low 30's, she is out there.  She even took a bone out there to chew on today.

Talked to Randy and he is enjoying the sun also.  His SUV is fixed, so he has been to town a couple times in the past few days.  He is much more social than I am. . .

Wednesday 2/10. It is 32 and overcast this morning.  Another melty day.

Thought for the day: Yesterday I was clever, so I wanted to change the world.  Today I am wise, so I am changing myself.  Rumi

February 8, 2016 MAX Is Back!

Much easier to tilt
the panels when you
are two feet higher.

Looking to the beginning
of the chute for the
firewood sled. . .

. . . and on down to the porch.

Friday 2/5. JB's wrist has improved dramatically in the past few days.  Just hope he isn't using it too much now.  He baked another loaf of French bread today that turned out a better.  Seems he had misread the recipe last time and used too much apple cider vinegar.

I baked Toll House pan cookies, and then we hiked up to tilt the solar panels half-way up.  JB didn't have to reach up in order to loosen the bolt as he was standing on about two feet of snow!  In many places now, we do not sink in more than 4 or 5 inches, instead of 2 or 3 feet.

I made a birthday card for my friend who will turn 100 years old on 2/20!  I will send it down with Gridder tomorrow and ask Elsie to mail it for me.

The path to the wood shed is now the perfect chute for the firewood sled.  I give it a push at the gate and it slides all the way down to the porch by itself.  I may just have to try it with me on the sled. . .

The skies remained mostly overcast all day and our high was 38.  This nice and slow melting is just right.  A wind picked up in the evening, gusting to 23 mph.

Larry and Elsie haven't been able to catch sight of the egg thief on their game cam, but they did get an egg today for the first time since the bobcat episode.  Larry thinks whatever the thief was may have choked on the golf ball it stole!

We watched the movie, It's Complicated, this evening and will start another series tomorrow.

Saturday 2/6. It was 30 this morning with mostly cloudy skies, and the wind was still gusting.  Gridder arrived on the snowmobile a little after 10:30 am to help us with MAX.  He also brought up our mail and some other items.  Elsie had picked up a prescription for Dinga and some yogurt for me.  And she sent up a really cool chocolate bar, too!

It seems that MAX's throttle must have frozen, but by this morning it was working again.  Gridder and JB dug out MAX's tracks but were having a problem driving him up the driveway, so JB called me to come down.  I couldn't get him up either.  Then Gridder suggested that he might be able to if he drove it very slowly instead of gunning it.  And up he went!  To celebrate we all went inside and had cookies and a nice visit.

I thought I might try to go Down There tomorrow.  We'll see.

Our high for the day was 40 and it remained mostly cloudy, but the wind died down by early afternoon.

The girls gave us another egg today, so it looks like we may be back to getting one every other day.

We started watching the eighth season of Bones this evening.  Yes, we are way behind, but still enjoying it.

Sunday 2/7. It was 28 and partly cloudy this morning.  JB talked me out of going Down There today.  If I got stuck somewhere, we would really be in deep doodoo, and there is nothing we really need.  I'll wait til next Monday as we are supposed to get some warmer weather at the end of the week which may melt more of the snow on the road.

Unfortunately JB's wrist is really hurting him today.  Must have tried to do too much yesterday with MAX.

We had a nice, quiet day on the mountain reading mail and magazines.  The new Countryside magazine is excellent, as always.

I have been trying to decide which situation affects our life the most: being off the grid or being on the mountain.  I really think it is a draw.  Of course the weather determines how we use our electricity, but it also determines how we do or do not get to town, and pretty much everything else we do.  Actually being on the mountain may the biggest factor on how we live because of the weather.  Either way, it is an adventuresome life that I wouldn't trade for any other.

Our high for the day was 38 and the skies were mostly clear.  More slow melting.

Monday 2/8. It is 28 and partly cloudy this morning.  No specific plans for today.

Thought for the day: The miracle of gratitude is that it shifts your perception to such an extent that it changes the world you see.  Robert Holden Ph.D.

February 5, 2016 More Snow, More Melting & A Thief

JB wearing a shirt I gave
him for Christmas.

One of the photos I took after
post-holing to the north ridge.
I love the white and brown.

Wednesday 2/3. Valley fog again today, as in most days.  It usually starts out just over the rivers, then grows during the day.

We worked on the snow blower today, pouring hot water on the impeller to melt the ice.  Then the motor wouldn't start, but that was because it was out of gas.  Put gas in, but still couldn't get it started.  Will try again later.

Made some chocolate/peanut butter Chex mix that turned out pretty good.  Like crunchy Reese's Pieces.  Then I reorganized our long-term storage canned goods.  Found a can of gluten-free french bread mix that I kept out.  JB will make a loaf tomorrow.

After a few false starts, the predicted light snow began falling at 2:00 pm, almost as if it kept checking the time.  It was still coming down when we went to bed at 9:30

In talking to Elsie this evening, it seems that their chickens may have been laying eggs all along.  In keeping with the theory that if you put a plastic egg in the nest, they may take the hint, she put in a golf ball last night.  Today it was gone!  So they are going to install a game cam in the hen house, put in another golf ball, and see what happens.  A weasel?  A pack rat?  I guess we'll find out.

Thursday 2/4.  Forty-one years ago this morning, I gave birth to our son in Burlingame, CA.  Such a difference place, such a different time, and such a great kid.

It was 30 and mostly overcast this morning, but we soon had a lot of blue sky and sunshine.  All that snowing yesterday, and we only got one inch.

There was an explosion of activity when JB let the dogs out at 6:00 am.  Some four-footed critter(s) was down by the hen house and the dogs chased it away and away and away.  Jesse was gone for about an hour.  

I checked out all the tracks when I fed the girls at 8:30.  There were trails through the snow everywhere, but I really couldn't tell what it might have been.  Coyotes?  I did see some deer tracks around, but they didn't make most of the tracks.  One of the critters was light enough that it was able to walk on top of the snow.  The dogs can do that up on the south ridge, but not by the house.

JB baked a loaf of the French bread, but it didn't rise quite like it should have.  He will try again tomorrow.  I shoveled off the one- to two-foot overhang on the battery shed that was melting and sliding off.  Our high for the day was 39.  Almost didn't need a coat.  And we got another egg, from Blondie this time.

We watched the last two episodes of the second season of Blacklist this evening.  What a great program!

Friday 2/5. It is 30 and mostly overcast this morning with high valley fog covering all the valleys and canyons.  JB is not in a good mood.  Jesse stayed out for an hour when he let them out at 6:00 am. . .

Thought for the day. Anybody that wants the Presidency so much that he'll spend two years organizing and campaigning for it is not to be trusted with the office.  Henry Grady Weaver

February 3, 2016 Clueless as to MAX's Problem

Working on MAX with Dinga's
help, of course.

Monday 2/1. Back down to MAX this morning and got no closer to figuring out what is wrong with him.  We do know that his tracks are frozen into the snow, so dealing with that will be fun.  So we just trudged back up the driveway to take care of daily chores.

It was another beautiful day with a high of 38.  The snow around the sign to the north ridge has sunk so much that almost the whole sign is visible again.

Tuesday 2/2. This morning was a very chilly 22 with a partly cloudy sky.  We decided to take a respite from MAX and everything else.  It was a sunny but cold day with a high of only 28.

Sandy called this morning.  It has been a while since we talked, so there was lots to catch up on.  Lots of politics to rant about, including an interview she heard with a "man on the street."  Asked who he was going to vote for, he said he couldn't decide between Sanders or Trump!  Like I've said before, voters should have to take an IQ test before they are allowed to vote. . .

I vacuumed this morning and actually looked forward to doing it.  It's very rewarding when the results are so very obvious.  And it is so easy to do.  Other than that, we read books and were on our computers.  A very nice, relaxing day.

Gridder has offered to come up this weekend and help us fix MAX.  Pretty sure he will be able to determine the problem.

It was Candlemas to today which was described in the Farmer's Almanac as when the good goose lays an egg.  AND our girls gave us one!

I have talked so much about Downton Abbey in the past that Randy rented the first two seasons.  He binged on it, has rented season three and is halfway through that already!  And, yes, he loves it and the Dowager Countess.

Wednesday 2/3. It is 20 this morning and mostly overcast.  Way overslept, but it felt so good.

In response to the comment about the wheel also being science fiction when I was in high school - that sounds like something from my brother-in-law. . .

Thought for the day: Some days I amaze myself.  Other days I put the laundry in the oven.  mymommymanual.com

February 1, 2016 More Snow & Fixing MAX

Coming back up the driveway, almost home.

Friday 1/29. Snow fell until after 1:00 pm, so we did not hike down to work on MAX.  We received 4-1/4" which puts us over the 8 ft. mark.

JB has been working on the voice recognition software on his computer for the past few days so he doesn't have to type one-handed.  When I was in high school, that was pure science fiction.  The way it's going with his computer, it may still be. . .

Our high for the day was 32 and the wind continued blowing all day, knocking the snow off the trees and causing white-outs.  Did some shoveling on the paths after the snow stopped falling.

Saturday 1/30. It was 28 and mostly clear this morning.  We hiked down to MAX about 10:00 am to get the old part out and put the new one in.  I got three of the four screws out, but that last one just wouldn't budge.  By then my hands and toes were frozen, so we sprayed it real well with something to loosen it and let it set over night.  

It was a beautiful day, but the wind made our high of 38 seem much colder.

Still thoroughly enjoying the second season of Blacklist.  It is so well written and James Spader is superb.

By 9:30 pm, this time of year, we can see Orion's Belt (and all of Orion) directly out of our bathroom window.  Was never really interested in the stars until we moved Up Here.  Maybe that's because we can actually see them now.

Sunday 1/31.  It was 24 and mostly cloudy this morning and remained that way all day, although the sun managed to shine through most of the time.  Our high for the day was 34, but there was no wind.  Not at all sorry to say goodbye to January, during which we received 40-3/4" of snow.

We were on our way down to MAX at 10:00 am again, and after trying various scenarios, I was finally able to get that last screw out and put the new part in.  That felt so good, until we tried to start MAX and the battery was dead.  That was really weird because he started right up just a couple days ago.  Fortunately there is a pull start.  Unfortunately there seemed to be an issue with the throttle.  At that point we just put the seat back in and the tarp over MAX, and said we'll be back to deal with it tomorrow.

Funny how hiking up our steep driveway is so much easier when I haven't already hiked (slogged) more than three miles. . .

Monday 2/1. We have clear skies and a temp of 24 this morning.  Hopefully we can get MAX fixed and back up to Rose Camp today.

Thought for the day: We cannot direct the wind, but we can adjust the sails.