Edging towards the New Year

Lighted Bike

Downtown Whitefish

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First seven inches of snow

streaming snow

17 inches Sunday Morning

The snow started Saturday late morning and continued until the next morning early. 17 inches at the house. Before driving home on Saturday I went downtown for a few errands. The wind was whipping up and the snow was flying . The nice thing about decorations in the winter is that it makes the cold season a bit more cheerful. A bike rider crossed the street near by . I followed wanting to get a picture of the super cool bike with lights on the tires. He disappeared around a corner but lucky for me he stopped at the liquor store.  When I returned home we had the first 7 inches on the ground . By morning the second 10 had joined . The trees had been transformed to near snow ghosts. The snow is a blessing though. Good snow pack is water next year and a nice insulating layer now for the tender plants hibernating winter. Time to rest , stoke the fire and contemplate the New Year just around the corner .

Spring Snow

Spring is here !

Oops surely this is the wrong picture for the first day of Spring. The vernal equinox, a significant point of the calendar. A time of auspicious power. Today we start to leave winter behind in an official manner. 32 degrees all day with snow and a treat of golden sunlight at the end of the day . A time to rejoice at the coming warmth.

Bigger Heads : Happy in Montana

The causeway

A quick jaunt to the lake . Sunset is not too far off. It is said that living in a cold climate or high latitude causes the brain to work harder for survival . It makes you a bit more clever as your life does depend upon your ingenuity with the changing seasons. Shelter , food , clothing all need to be more proactive and prepared for versus hanging on the tropical beach. There is actually quite a bit of interesting research on this from adaptive skills to cranial and brain size. What kind of person goes around measuring brain sizes  ?

Foot path through the marsh

So a trip to Echo an hour before sunset .  I was looking for the Otters. The lake is quite frozen except for a small patch of open water up at the northern end of the marsh where the foot path winds across a culvert . I would suppose they are hanging out there now instead of down by the main Causeway.

Frozen Echo Lake and the Swans

 Below is a perfect Mouse House in the form of an old stump . It looks like the kind of house that some little critter would like  to have as home base.

A mouse house 

Pete's Ridge in the setting sun light 

 As we take a walk along the lake the sun starts to set lighting the surrounding peaks with some rosy twilight colors.

Heading home 

 After our hike we head back to the car and up the road to the house . The Swan Mountains are glowing . Sunset is an especially nice time here in the Northern latitudes. There are a few moments each day when the sky transforms to magic .

Jewel Basin

Goodnight for now to the Jewel Basin. Aptly named for it's gorgeous peaks and views.

Balance

 Creston Goodness, the good earth

 This is the time of year where a great deal of energy is spent on assessing just how slippery is it ?
We had quite a bit of snow and below freezing temperatures recently. Snow piled up and packed down on the roads converting to packed ice over time. Then we had the warm up the last few days with temperatures in the mid thirties. One can only imagine the results . Now all surfaces are flat , smooth and completely slippery with a thin layer of water . This is the event that levels the playing field . Not much you can do but put on your ice skates and go.

How is your balance this New Year ? Are you placing your energies in the forward gear and into something positive this year ?
Or are your eyes looking backward at projects that failed ? Relationships that have unresolved issues and drag you down? In this new beginning of a year is it time to cut the ties that strangle? I issue a challenge. Take stock of your actually feeling of well being the next time you are with family , friends or people you consider significant in your life. Do you feel well? can you breathe ? and are you relaxed? Do you feel the glow of love and support ? I am wanting your answer to be yes. If not you know what to do.

Flathead River

 A walk along the Flathead River today.If it is sunny out you can usually bet the temperatures are cold. The more moderate weather brings clouds and the famous gray that is legend here in the Valley in the
Winter. So the choice seems to be cold and sunny or moderate and cloudy. About a week ago I woke from the sound of the rain on the roof with snow on the ground and this is January.

Snowy wilderness

After a busy day it is good to see the familiar last mile on the way home. Already the days are longer and the sky has more light at dusk and dawn . Often people do not like January so much , but really the darkest time is the three weeks before the Winter solstice in Early December. Perhaps it is good that we have the distraction of the Holidays to take our minds off the shortened days .

Ice up close and personal , ice cleats anyone ?

1/13/13 Post Script : Monday brings 48 degrees and warm winds . We now have a layer of water on the layer of packed ice. Thankfully all of the snow has finished crashing off the roof. Snow bombs on the roof unnerve the pups.

The ice field by the garage

Lazy Day Becomes the Long Night

 Lazy snowy day for errands . Snow all night and everything is newly frosted. The Swan is quite glowy in the afternoon sun. Some blue sky peaking through the snowy clouds . Heading East on the Swan Highway after the days chores in town.

 A particularly bright spot on the mountains north of Jewel Basin . I stop by the lake to see what is going on . It is a slow day so I wait by the lake by a hole in the ice. There are bubbles coming up so maybe some kind of animal is lurking under the ice. I have to be very quiet. I am sure it has super human hearing and even my shallow breathing can be detected by this unknown entity that is locked under the icy crust of the lake .

 My patience is rewarded by a river otter that surfaces and slithers onto the ice. It is breathing hard as it had to hold it's breath waiting for me to leave. Of course I didn't leave and now we are face to snoot. It watches me and I watch it. Then it dives back into the icy waters.

 Before it climbs out again it pokes it's head out and peaks around the border of the ice free hole.

 North end of the lake is quite still in the afternoon chill. It was fun to spend some time with the otter.

 Back on the road to the house . Hovering near freezing as I travel past Jewel Basin. The roads are not too slick but still have patches of ice.

 The trees at the top of Jewel Basin are covered in snow. These trees are quite tall but look tiny on the 7000 foot ridges.

The road into the basin is beckoning but more work to do so maybe another day .

A quiet day of exploring the great frozen North West gives way to the silence of the night. Tonight is the Long Night . Tomorrow is Solstice and we will once again welcome the sun back from it's long journey in the Winter sky.

the last hooray for the Western Larch 

 Our second snow coincided with the last golden colors of the Western larch , perhaps 4 inches that melted over this last week. The last rays of the day heightened the golds of the Larches. I will miss them until they return in the spring with their faerie green needles.

Magic sky

 The sky is ever changing. Much of winter is cloud cover in this North West corner. Unlike the startling blue skies of eastern Montana, we have the Pacific flow and moderate temperatures that comes with the clouds. The patterns and colors change by the minute and although you can count on grey skies occasionally the blue will break through.

The yard transforms into Narnia

Today's snow is piling up quickly . It started snowing mid day on Friday and has been steady. Tempertures in the mid 30s kept the snow from sticking until 2 AM this morning . Since then we have about 12 inches. Decks shoveled , paths cleared, young trees cleaned of their snowy burdens.  The bird feeder is tentatively filled. I say tentative as the bears are not hibernating just yet. But I feel badly for the  birds looking for a meal .  Everything is hidden under at least 12 inches of snow now.

Time to shovel the deck and clear off the wood pile 

 The smaller wood pile has been cleared off . The wood stove is working well  heating the house. I took off a few years from burning when I moved . It is nice to get back to the rhythm of the cozy wood stove . It isn't necessarily cheaper to heat with wood but certainly it is warmer as you can cozy up to the stove and read.

Steps leading from the deck , a good 8 inches of new snow

 A chore to be dealt with . Snow is easier to remove before it freezes over night and is more stubborn to shovel.

Doggy break in the Doggy Corral , Marley and Gus are considering the snow

The dogs are watching my activities in the yard from the Doggy Corral. A place not so much to keep them in but to keep the cats and bears out. Yes the Mountain lion can easily leap the 5 foot fence but at least he would have to make an effort to get the dogs.

Time to shovel a path to the garage. 

Snow is pouring and I have finished the path to the "Man shop". Very important as it really is not much fun to slog to the garage in the dark before work . And yes it is now dark morning and night. This is the time for the stout of heart . The Dark Season. I spend a lot of time with my lantern to and from the house after work . I keep in mind that about mid January the sun starts to reappear and there are a limited number of weeks that the winter steals the light.

Black and white

The morning drive started in Black and White and various shades of grey. The valley is known for it's cloud cover in the winter. This has upon occasion driven the local population to late winter insanity. However I am good. No insanity here. I spent 14 years in the Southern Appalachians ( see my earlier blogs) and very interestingly the Smoky Mountains have some same weather features as the Western slopes of the Rockies. In a way I was perfectly preconditioned to live in the "valley of gloom ". Perhaps those are strong words. I actually am grateful for the cloud cover. It insulates us during the winter months so we do not plunge into the single or negative digits. It keeps the Good Earth somewhat moist. Less than the Smokies but more than a desert. So I celebrate our cloud cover.

Angus

 Neighboring Black Cows against a beautiful morning in a simple palette of greys.

Jewel Basin

 Driving home in the evening was a different story . Muted blues against the snow cover. Looking south the Swan and Jewel Basin are glowing .

Peter's Ridge

 Above a bit of Alpine glow graces the ridges above my house . I often look up at the tree line and wonder how many mountain lions are contemplating life in their rocky perches.

Eastern Foothills

 Access to the Strawberry Mountain Trail frosted with a few feet of snow . This is a great place to take a walk in the snow shoes.

 Last leg of the journey home . The roads are snow packed but quite passable. The sun is setting and drenching the sky with color. I spy my turnoff  just ahead and smile with satisfaction that I am home again.

Sunset looking towards the valley

 The last few rosy rays of pink light my way as I walk to the house . It has been a good day .

Alpine glow through the trees

Traffic Jam

 So it is getting crowded in the yard. take a number ! Bobcat tracks in the foreground curving through 14 inches of snow . This is what is left of the repeated snows over the last 6 weeks. The first night Bob ran across the front porch and jumped down onto the snow berm from the roof. He/She trotted along the top , jumped down by the nice miniature Alberta spruce and headed west into the woods. This time Bob came down by the East side of the house and snaked across the front yard before heading south for the day. Bob was trotting with a 29 inch stride. The paws were circular with less than a 2 inch diameter. Distinct pads were noted. Bobcats are said to be 17 pounds or there about. So I am thinking "not too much to worry about ".  Then my student informed me they were 17 pounds of teeth and claws and I should think " disemboweled " instead. Now that changes everything when considering the run to the garage in the morning.

 Ginormous turkey tracks . That is my boot and basically the turkey track is about as big as half my boot. probably not a good idea to tick off Tom.

 Meanwhile in the drive Bob is on the move and something small is scittering past the cat tracks . not sure what this is and can not find the tracks in the Scat and Tracks book. I will continue to look.

 Close up of Bob's paw. distinct even after a couple of days of thawing and freezing . We also have Canadian Lynx which are in the same weight category but have bigger paws at about 4 inches. They also have fuzzy paws so their prints are more indistinct. So we are voting for the Bobcat this time around. And yes I was running around in the yard this morning with out a coat ( it was a sunny 26 degrees ) with my tape measure checking paw size and stride size . Quite fun.

long view of the tracks snaking across the yard. Perhaps I will see the visitor in person some evening .

100% Snow

 So driving home without a care in the world after work. The sky is cloudy and the sun has set but the roads are dry and we are moving right along. When suddenly someone switches on the snow button. By the time I hit Woody's the Snow was coming down pretty convincingly. So the last 8 miles was driven with care. I don't have my snow legs yet and didn't want to be the first one in the ditch looking stupid.

 Ahhh the dash to the front porch form the Garage. About 80 feet . Always the question. Will I get there before the cat ? Not just any cat but the nice Mountain Lion in residence. Now that the ground has snow cover he won't be able to sneak around without being noticed.

 More snow and expecting I would suspect a lot more since the weather folks said 100%  chance of snow. Of course that begs the question of 100% of what?

 The Most coveted Marley. Out for a snow romp with the other dogs . I took a picture of them but they looked like red eyed demon dogs so we aren't putting that pic in the blog. scary. But there was a lot of snow licking and racing about being quite crazy in the frozen precipitation.

For now good night. My brave LED lantern lights the way on these final cold days of 2012. But are they the final days or will 2013 greet us just around the corner. What do you think as we hurtle towards the Galactic Center?