Fun for everyone, except those in a cage

We are trying to fully appreciate the Naples area back to normal now. Wow, what a gift! We went to the farmer's market yesterday and it was much expanded. Heather, the chickens are for you. Not sure what their point was - no sign or anything.... Bought Myers lemons among other things. They are special wonderful tasting lemons only available here for a short time. Every area seems to have those secret things that only locals know.

We were kicked out of the house twice today (Sunday) for house showings. Second time we went down to the beach - absolutely gorgeous!

Things going back to normal

Things are starting to warm back up here, as it sounds like normal temps are beginning to happen in other parts of the country. Whoo- this was odd weather for here. Big fish kill everywhere, I saw some on our beach, and a lot of plants just couldn't handle the unusual long cold spell. The flowers I covered are fine, but the banana trees had some frost damage. Yeah, banana and frost doesn't even sound right...

The strange looking birds are woodstorks. They are endangered so it's always nice to see some, and they were having a field day with the unexpected easy fish pickings.

"Season" appears to be moving into full mode. Lots more traffic on the roads and everywhere I go I hear French, Italian, German, and British accents. Europe has had their own cold weather issues - they're probably very glad to be here.

Ooops, didn't bring enough warm clothes

Well, we are back in sunny, warm Florida. Hmmm...sunny yes, warm no. The arctic cold front that has a lot of the country insanely cold made it down here as we flew in. Sub freezing temps in south Florida have had everyone scrambling to cover tender plants and turning on heat in the house. Someone was having a big laugh at our expense. Right, let's leave the severe winter cold of CO and enjoy some balmy Florida weather. HA. The worst is over though and the temps will slowly go back up this week. These are some cold birds on our walk to the beach. And look at our beach - we were the only crazy people out that morning. Looks pretty, but boy was it cold!

Goodbye for now, but we'll be back!

Getting ready to leave time. I snapped a few photos while we were running around doing last errands. The photo of the miner's cabin at Star Mt. shows one that is still standing. Sadly, a lot of them are slowly collapsing and it's accelerated with the winter snow. Cannot imagine life for the miners & families in those cabins...
Last snowshoeing of the season today. After this, coyote & fox, you're on your own! Much warmer than normal today (30 & Gunnison got above freezing) Really crazy considering the newest burst of arctic cold is racing across the state headed east. Denver is 7 degrees.
We tried one last time to buy a fireplace screen. We were told "coming on the truck, coming on the truck" - whoops truck came and no screens. Maybe we'll find one when we're back in the spring. If you're wondering why we would need a screen when we have glass doors - well, we've decided that the new special state code very expensive firebox that you HAVE to buy if you want a woodburning fireplace now, is baloney pure & simple. The purpose is to make the releasing smoke out of the chimney non- polluting. Admirable, however we were getting about 50% of the heat into the house with those doors closed.
All the open barns in the area are still full of hay. We have watched the ranchers dump hay daily in the snow for the horses & cows. It'll be interesting to see if their stock of hay is all gone by the time we come back. There are a lot of months left of big winter here!
It has been magical to be here,but enough cold I think. We'll take a break and be back for the start of spring.
I've been asked to continue the blog even when we are not here on Star Mountain, and I 've decided to try. It could be life on star mountain on a beach vacation??

Special places

We went back into Crested Butte for what is probably the last time for a long while. It was 10 degrees and felt balmy. Crazy I know! Had lunch there and tried to buy a 2010 calendar - no luck. No one seems to care about dates around here. Actually sounds kind of smart...
Had to take a picture of Donita's even though we didn't make it there this trip. It seems like a summer place for us.
Some people are hard working - notice the artist painting in the street. Gotta sell some art to the tourists. (I've seen him doing scenes in the street in the summer as well).
We have a mob of people showing up Thurs morning to blow out water pipes and shut down the house. Walter is one of them, as he will be watching after the house while we're gone. Hate to leave it, but bound for a warmer climate. We'll be back in time for thaw...

Forging ahead

Snowshoeing has become our daily exercise. It burns up masses of calories and is a great aerobic workout. We finally figured out the most efficient way to put on the shoes and trek our way around. I have fallen twice: once tripping over a tree trunk and the second, Mark brushed by me (not on purpose really) and down I went. No big deal except to get back up. The powdery snow is DEEP. The ravine photo is where family saw bear claw marks in aspen trees this summer. Remember Krissy, Katie, & James? Wonder where the bear are taking their big winter sleep...
The coyote and/or fox continue to walk in our tracks every day. They've even taken to marking their territory. Little pee dribbles are happening at spots all along the way. When we leave, the animals are in for a shock as the Adams highway disappears...
Went in town today and have had snow showers all over the place. Saw two car accidents - one in town across from WalMart which knocked an electric pole askew and the other a car going off the road down into a ditch on Ohio Creek Rd. It doesn't take a lot before the roads are tricky it seems. Saw a stream of cars headed to Gunnison from Crested Butte. Think it's the holiday crowd leaving town today. The holidays sure came & went in a whirlwind!

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year! Can't believe it's a brand new year - hope it's a good one for everyone...
We had a wonderful time last night. The predicted snow did not happen and the torchlight parade was beautiful - I don't know that my pictures do it justice. There was a big fireworks show along with the skiers coming down the mountain. Didn't know that part was happening! The skiers came down International (a black "expert" run).
We watched the "blue moon" come up as well. This landscape sure makes for a spectacular surrounding.
Our dinner at Le Bosquet was terrific and very festive. Lots of people everywhere all celebrating. We made it back early (of course) and as usual, did not stay up to see the new year in. We leave that for everyone else to do :-)
Time to take down the xmas decorations. This is the first year I can remember that I don't really want to put them away. It still feels holidayish!