Disappearing snow, hints of spring, and more travel

Drip, drip, drip. The creeks are muddy and the snow is disappearing more everyday. Outside work is starting, spraying down the deck, moving outdoor furniture up, and shoveling the gravel back on the driveway after snowplows pushed it off. Blah, that last one is a killer job, a monstrous amount has to be moved.. Definitely a good workout I guess is one way of looking at it.

It's possible that a pair of robins hopping around on the snow doing the stop, feel for worm, and then attack dance, are "our" robins who come back year after year. I say this because they are a little demented, laid eggs in a tiny bluebird nest with big babies falling out until I knocked it down, subsequently building a really sloppy nest of their own with more babies falling out, and there are no worms in snow. So we will keep an eye on them.

old  miners cabin roof definitely took a hit this winter

Enjoying the quiet of the off season, and also trying to support local business. If you're in the area please pop into The Local Market in Gunnison. Selling Colorado products only: Grass fed beef, farm eggs, homemade bread,cheeses, sausages, honey, milk, etc. It opened in December and is owned by Kathleen Curry our ex-state representative. We've had some great informative conversations about grass fed beef (she and her husband own Tomichi Creek natural beef), and she will carry as much local product as she can fit in.

our spring is quite full

I am on the move again, travelling to Seattle Sunday. My sister and family, and my mother are there and her birthday is next week - perfect timing. I haven't been since August so really looking forward to it. Great city and good weather is predicted right now (small chance of rain yippee).

Wow, very late listing of books read. Here you go:
Last Letter From Your Lover by Jojo Moyes - okay - to be honest no idea where I got her name
Introducing Agatha Raisin; Quiche of Death/The Vicious Vet by M.C. Beaton -good, new British mystery series
Toast, the story of a boy's hunger by Nigel Slater - good, true,made into a movie,  he's well known food writer in Britain
See Delphi and Die by Lindsey Davis - always good, another in the Roman mystery series
Nightingale Woods by Stella Gibbons - good, written in 1930's so stylized, she wrote Cold Comfort Farm

Green stuff coming next!

Lots of chippies, ground squirrels scampering about (Mark's already feeding them)and coyotes howling and owls hooting in the night. No deer or elk yet- a couple more weeks I think. And bear will be waking up soon. It seems like a dream I saw mountain lion tracks in the woods while snowshoeing. Now where does it go in good weather?

Beach,snow, and photography

Being back at Star Mt. is lovely even with it the "in between" season. Snow is retreating by the hour, and nary a flake in Gunnison. We have blue birds and robins swooping all over, never have been able to figure why they come back so early - what are they eating?

End of Florida visit was fun, a high rise hotel by the beach, happening seafood restaurant in Ft. Lauderdale. These pictures sort of mess with your mind right? Me too, haven't figured out I'm back in the cold.

Winter retreat is a very slooow process here. Aspen won't leaf out for a few more weeks, my daffodils are halfway up, and looking forward to the time the deer and elk arrive at Star Mt.

Some news on the photography front, I've had 3 photos accepted at the Crested Butte Land Trust, in their 2014/2015 calender and website. Quite excited. Keeps me motivated to click, click away.

Colorado versus Florida

Hi, I'm back although we're still in Florida for a couple more days. What a study in contrast.
This is what we left, a loose bull, more sand hill cranes, and pink snow.








And this is what we found, MORE sand hill cranes with babies (photo courtesy Mark on the golf course), alligators galore (no photo, just imagine), beautiful stay at friends new Florida home, and dinner on an amazing boat with good friends.
















Sandals on,eating at some of our favorite restaurants, and turning on that air conditioning- 89 today. It will be full on mud season when we get back with melting snow everywhere, plus some falling from the sky - always does even into May.
I expect entry back to be a bit disorienting...


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Home, snow, Flauschink, calves, and red dust

And we are home, and I'm quite torn. Very sad to leave those precious girls, happy to see Star Mt. again after 3 weeks.It's still winter here and we have about 4 feet of snow at the house. There is some melting starting but it will be May before we can legitimately say spring. Plenty of time for more snow. The ski mountain closes tomorrow, most restaurants as well for off season, and we went into Crested Butte to see the ending of winter parade called Flauschink. Totally made up and started in 1969. Hands down the silliest and smallest parade we've seen.

newly crowned king and queen of Flauschink

ex kings and queens

And this was the parade in entirety

Evidently while we were gone a massive wind storm brought the red dust from four corners. It has turned the snow pink everywhere and causes early melting and ruins the snow for skiing. A natural phenomenon.

still looks white from a distance but up close a different story

I thought I had missed all the calving and the sand hill cranes, but lo and behold saw both today.

The last few photos of Miss Juliet. She is growing like a weed. Eating, eating, eating appears to be her goal.

I snapped a few pictures of Penny's school as I took her for the last day. What a place. I wanna go!

We are only here a few days before off traveling again, this time to Palm Beach. I know, crazy right?