High water, animals, flowers, and food

Keeping eyes peeled at all times. Piles of elk and deer. Look there's another, we say, elk, no deer, oh it's both. I bought a new salt lick at the feed store after deer were digging in the dirt where Mark had one last year. Yes, a feed store, I think it's the first time I've ever been in one. I don't have horses or a farm or any need for the accessories - except a salt lick. They come in assorted colors too (different minerals) who knew?

We went jeeping up Almont Triangle for the first time this season. So many areas are still not passable, but this had mostly dried up and so pretty. Lots of early flowers out and magnificant vistas.

Let's talk about the high water. Since there was record snows and our area was 243% above normal (no kidding that's not a made up number) the thaw has started and we've never seen it so high. If I were a homeowner with some of those houses close to the river, I'd be just a tad concerned. The next few days will tell the tale of just how high the rivers will go. Roaring Judy even has sand bags out.

These are 9 inch trout at Roaring Judy hatchery waiting to be released. When the water levels come down they'll get their chance to be free..

3 Rivers is back open so in we went for lunch. Great food there...

Birds, flowers, snowmelt, and margaritas

Happy Memorial Day weekend!  Hope everyone has fun plans... We started off the weekend by buying a freezer. No that probably doesn't excite most of you, but I am happy, happy. We have a wonderful bottom freezer/refrigerator in the kitchen, but - not enough freezer space due to guests, multi batch cooking, etc. This is an upright freezer that you do not have to climb in to get things and will fit nicely in the garage. Don't have it yet - has to be ordered and delivered. Naturally, it's a teeny appliance store in town...

So what's up with this photo of a cute purple flower? Larkspur...  It's suddenly popped up everywhere on Star Mt. Reminder from last summer - this is the very poisonous plant to cattle, and determines when our fun mooing, munching, and dropping you know what everywhere, group of cattle come in to graze. Last year the cowboys brought the cows in July 6 after the flowers died off, but everything is running late this year due to the record snowfall, so unknown when they will show up. We need some fence repair done, so it's just as well it will be awhile.

Farm visit today. Cows being milked, chickens being herded by the guard dog, and ducks in the pond - oh, that's not a pond, just overflow from open headgates. The fields everywhere are soggy, as that is the spring irrigation method. Divert the river water to the fields - no sprinklers here...

Had to snap a picture of the first daffodil in bloom. On May 27th! Yes, in reality it will be a rather pitiful display, but it's a start...

Went to CB for lunch and errands. Wow, the place was hopping after being sooo quiet in off season. Had asian food (Mark had a blue ginger margarita as well)  at Ginger Cafe. Yum...

Drove up to Mt. Crested Butte as well. Still a lot of snow around, but not enough to have the lifts running. (Aspen & Vail are open this weekend!). The rivers are running incredibly high as the real snow melt has started. Fishing report - zip and nada - too high and muddy to even try...

So guess who's baackk...  Yup, the bullock orioles, and up to usual tricks feeding at the hummingbird feeder. They are very late compared to last year, but clearly everything's delayed this year. Don't know if it's the two pair yet... The hummingbirds are mad...

Deer, mud, green things, and art brushes

The deer are definitely back and I'm seeing them everyday. They're changing from gray to brown right now so look a little mottled. Yesterday a group enjoyed a breakfast in our yard, munching very close to the as yet to bloom daffodils. As it turns out, I was wrong about deer loving daffodils, they'll only eat them if there is nothing else and there are lots of grasses and plants growing. Safe! I'm on the lookout for Flap - no sign so far. (Flap, so named for the loose piece on one of her ears, was around our house for weeks on end, always by herself - a loner it seems...

We have a road issue at the moment. As a reminder, we have dirt roads at Star Mt. which guarantees dirty cars - all the time.Part of the mountain lifestyle... This problem is more than that - the snow melt has caused a huge muddy mess down the hill from our house that our homeowner's association is debating on how to fix. We are going the long way round for the time being after getting giant piles of mud off both cars.Oh dear, hope our UPS and FedX guys call me first before coming...

Went to a garden workshop in town on Sunday. It was run by my Thistle Whistle Farm guy Mark, who I saw last year. He runs a totally organic farm in a warmer clim (Hotchkiss) and is bursting at the seams with plant knowledge. Sadly, a lot of it is to tell all of us in this area that the list is long of what we can't grow. Too high, too windy, too cold, blahh... However I did buy some tomato and basil plants from him that should do alright. (the tomato plants were developed in Russia - definitely need to be hardy from there!)

Finished two books recently at completely different ends of the spectrum. The Paris Wife by Paula Mclain a novel based on historical facts on Ernest Hemingway's first wife. Good, but you gotta wonder if any of the spouses of those famously flawed writers of that period were happy. Egotistical messes is what I call them... Second book (or tome I should say - 807 pages!) was A Game of Thrones by George R R Martin. This one was at Heather's recommendation. I'm not normally into science fiction fantasy but this is very, very good - although word of warning - graphic and intense done in medieval times. This is the series that's been running on HBO - watching that next.
I'm busy painting every day right now - have great incentive. I'm the guest artist for July at the coop art gallery in CB. The call came out of the blue, and I need to have enough paintings to fill up a wall.  Oooh, swish that brush, squeeze those paint tubes.

More white stuff falling out of the sky, and camping plans

Snow is baack... What craziness is this?  So happy Mark was here to experience this week's deck shoveling. Everything melts off quickly and the grass and flowers keep on popping out anyway.

The poor hummingbirds though. They tried to feed but it was a rough go. They're probably regretting leaving Mexico for this. Surely we're about done.

Egg pick up at the farm today. Animals out and about. The Great Pyrenees dog was off duty today. The farm has two and they protect the chickens from foxes etc...
Saw the first deer at Star Mt. yesterday and four more were in our woods this morning. It's great they're coming back but whoops, my daffodils are just now forming buds. Maybe the deer won't notice...
And in anticipation of the summer to come, we have ordered a tent. Oh, yes, we are going to try camping. I can't believe I'm excited about this, after nixing that as an option for a million years. (I think it might have been 1974 when we last did this). Now this is not days of backpacking carrying your own gear camping (I'm not that crazy) but taking the Rock, aka the jeep, and bouncing up to out of the way places with beautiful vistas. Should be lots of fun - I'll let you know...

Animals everywhere and quiet roads

While we've been enjoying nice weather,watching the greening up of everything, and the massive thawing goes on, we still were caught off guard by blocked roads. We tried to check out Spring Creek Reservoir - saw big horn sheep on the way, and Mark threw a line in just for fun, but snow blocked our way up. Amazing to have this much snow still around...

Everywhere is still so quiet. I am the only car on the road quite often. In CB the restaurants are just now starting to open preparing for the tourist season. We met friends Steve and Gail at Mcgills for breakfast Sunday with the place half empty. That is actually something to relish, in the summer the line is out the door...

We walked through our woods for the first time. It's been a snow packed,muddy mess up until recently. It's a magical place with a life all its own.. We think fox and coyote have babies in their dens right now. Startled a red tail hawk while we meandered. They nest high up in the aspen in the same place every year. No deer yet but soon we expect. Chippies are everywhere and the bluebirds are building a nest under our deck right where they did last year. And yes, the hummingbirds are back. Let the sugar water madness begin.

The giant group of elk have gone missing. We've only seen a few since the day they covered the next hill over. I'm counting on seeing their new babies in a few weeks. They better come back. I want things to be exactly as they have been over the last two summers. Pretty silly of me I know...