Posts from the ‘Montana’ category

Procrastination

Yesterday morning started at barely 3F. It was gusty and the 4-5 inches of snow that had fallen since I last cleared the driveway was blowing around. I didn’t have to go anywhere and no deliveries were expected so I decided to wait for the wind to die down and hopefully a bit more warmth before playing with the snowblower again.

The sun came out, the wind quit and it did warm up to about 14F – by 4 p.m. Karl and I set out on a snowshoe/walk – too nice to be snowblowing!

We had taken a short walk in the morning, but it was overcast and blustery. This afternoon walk was wonderful. The wind had blown the new snow into such smooth contours that it looked like a painting of snow. It was such a soft, pretty look to the landscape that I hated to make tracks through it.

We dawdled. Karl took a break to clean ice balls from between his toes…it’s a problem! Often, he will stop and hold one paw piteously in the air and wait for me to get to him and fix it. Today, though, he decided he would do it all by himself!

Back at the house, I took a look at the driveway and thought that I should probably fire up the snowblower and clean things up. So I fired up the grill and cooked some hamburgers for my dinner…

About the time I was thinking that the snowblowing could wait until morning, my neighbor arrived…in his tractor-backhoe! He had emailed me the night before saying he was going to work on his and his adjoining neighbor’s drives and did I want a clean up. Thinking I was going to clear my own drive in the morning, I emailed that back but asked if he could clear the end of my drive if the county plow had been by and blocked it in.

Mike works for the county road department and up until this year not only was our road on his plowing route, but the county sent him home with the plow so he plowed the road on his way out, i.e. first thing. This year his route was changed, some “stranger” is plowing our road and the county is low on funds after last summer’s gas prices. Plowing all over the valley is not what it was.

All to say, that Mike KNOWS how to run a plow – tractor – backhoe (see the great garden trade ) and as he came up the driveway, I congratulated myself on my uncharacteristic procrastination.

As I’m preparing this post, Wednesday morning … it is 2 below zero. Bundling up to go out with Karl on a short walk is one thing. Flinging powdery snow around that has a tendency to drift back on me is quite another – thanks Neighbor!!

It ain’t over yet…

Winter, it is not over yet. We’ve had three nights of snowing and blowing – the blowing being not so bad at my home as I am again in a bit of a wind shadow. Arctic cold spilled over the Continental Divide as forecast and it is considerably colder – at 3F – this morning than is usual for March 10.

Yesterday after a snowy, windy start, the sun came out and made for a brilliantly, beautiful walk.

Karl waited…

I cleaned up…

It was not windy when I was snowblowing, but when the snow is so light and powdery it “drifts” everywhere, mostly on to the snowblower and the snowblower operator – that is my new black hat and the snowblower is mostly black. It was as cold as it looks at about 17F.

We will reprise this operation later today – hopefully it will be above 10.

This Winter, it ain’t over yet!

One way

The “arrows” are wild turkey tracks…just struck me funny…

**edit/clarification 3/5 the other tracks are white-tailed deer, going the opposite direction of the arrow. The turkeys are going the same way, i.e. opposite of the arrow – that little “dot” at the top of the arrow is the back “claw”. see Idaho Wild Turkey Federation for a bunch of prints going “up” the page – “arrows” pointed down.

the start of my Saturday

The week’s foot of new snow and very cold temperatures will not be the last of Winter that we see here in Northwest Montana, but it might be the last cold, powdery, heavy snow. It is beautiful beyond words this morning as the sun made the crystalline surface glimmer as if in a fantasy. It is supposed to rise above freezing in today’s bright sunshine. I will be out every second I can enjoying nature’s sparkle while it lasts.

Karl and I are headed to Missoula to fetch the Winnebago. It looks to be a perfect day to drive around the lake and through the valley bordered by the Missions to east and Bitteroots to the west. And back, hopefully…

Soft morning light

First thing in the morning, I flip on the front outside spot as fair warning to the outdoor wild things that us indoor wild things will be making an appearance soon. As I walk through the house, I turn on a few low lamps – just enough light to navigate by as I start coffee, fire up the woodstove, feed the cat – the morning routine.

That first cup of coffee and I, followed by Karl, begin the morning with quiet reflection from a loved old wingback chair in the sunroom. The sunroom is a small bump on the end of the house, off the kitchen. My desk sits beneath the front-side window. From the wingback chair, I can see through the back slider into a living room window… and out the other sunroom windows, the trees illuminated by the outdoor spot.

This morning, the view of Bob and the trees covered with snow, made me grateful once again for a fresh new day.

And this new, soft snow? – Beautiful always, but especially so in the soft morning light.