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Pearrygin Lake Walk

We have had quite a few days of ice fog. That combined with no new snow can make a pretty bleak picture. The little snow we have has been softened and frozen into an uneven frozen track that often makes walking difficult. I put ‘yak traks’ on my shoes just about every time I go out for a walk. One day last week there was a hint that the sun might be shining just a little higher up and the dogs and I had a few minutes before meeting our friends for agility practice. So we went up to frozen Pearrygin Lake to see if we could find the sun and to stretch our legs. There were glimpses of sunshine, sucker holes, but by the time we left, it was just gray again.

We saw some folks walking their goats through the state park
A sun spot/sucker hole on the hillside
Sky at five months and 40 pounds.
Sky and Luna playing
Sometimes she looks distinguished
Bubbles in the ice
This bubble looks like a UFO
There’s that spot of blue sky

Full Moon Rising

These images are from January 15. I think they speak for themselves.

Pasta Class!

I’ve been busy the last two weeks – there was a lovely wedding to photograph out on the ski trail and of course lots of computer work following. And this week I needed to produce a newsletter too. Now that I’ve finished both of those projects I can go on to some personal stuff. The dogs and I have had a few walks with friends and one evening this week I got to take a pasta making class at Tappi, a wonderful Italian restaurant in Twisp. It was a small class – just five students – taught by the owner and cook who learned cooking from his mother. I love that he cooks by feel, not so much with recipes; that’s how I cook. He showed us some cookbooks but then went on to say he doesn’t use them although some were obviously old and well-thumbed through. For the pasta, he said one egg per serving and enough flour to absorb the egg. How much flour? Well that depends on lots of stuff – how big is the egg, how humid/dry is it, how warm/cold are your hands, and so on. For the three sauce he showed us, he gave us a list of ingredients and approximate measures and then he showed us how he makes them in his own kitchen. There was Emma’s (his mother) , Diavolo (the devil) and Carbona (yes, there was bacon in it, lots of bacon) sauces. And the best part of a cooking class is the eating! To go with the three pastas, he fixed us a lovely salad with a nice chevre and roasted buttercup squash and red onions from the brick wood-fired oven and it was all paired with wonderful wines from Italy. By the time we finished eating, well after 9 pm, I think everyone was very satisfied with the evening.

Here are a few images from my cell phone. It was all too good NOT to photograph!

Flour waiting for an egg
Diavolo sauce simmering
Now we used our fork and fingers to make the dough
Sauces and water on the stove
Using the hand crank Atlas machine
Now I know why I’ve always had a hard time with mine. It really takes three hands to do this.
The electric version is much easier
Sheets of pasta drying before cutting.
Some of our noodles. We all got to take home the noodles we made.
He made this pasta for us to eat.
And some of the food!

Pipestone in January!

Most years, it is a long slog to get up to the Pipestone Rim Trail in January. You’d have to park at the bottom of Lester Road and walk, snowshoe or ski up to it and then you’d be tired before you even got to the trail. This year, we can drive to the trailhead. With just a bit of snow it is getting lots of use from hikers, dog walkers and fat bikes. Three women and five dogs enjoyed it yesterday. Snow was in the forecast but the few flakes that fell didn’t amount to anything and at one point the sun was shining. More snowflakes in today’s forecast.

Frida
Luna
Wondering – where is the rest of the group?
Sky
Wyatt Ann. She loves me.
Jennifer pointing out landmarks at the lower end of the canyon
Amazing geology of Pipestone
Juniper, close to the edge
Sky, close to the edge
Looking back from the trailhead
Tired dogs are good dogs.

Fun Times on the Ice

Even without much snow, there is still winter fun to be had. I took the girls/dogs to frozen Patterson Lake a couple days ago along with my skate skis. The small amount of snow on the ice surface is sort of chopped up now but I was still able to skate ski on it. Not very gracefully though. Since this is Sky’s first winter, she is learning about skis and skiing and staying away from the potentially dangerous (to her) sticks on my feet. And to her they are sticks and she just loves sticks. I haven’t even tried using poles around her yet. This was our second ski outing and she did better. A few other folks were out enjoying the ice and bluebird skies too. They were ice fishing, ice skating, classic skiing and playing with dogs. I saw one Great Blue Heron perched high in a snag. I wonder if the bird has learned to steal fish from the ice anglers? Most of them hope to catch perch but trout and kokanee salmon seem to be easier to catch.

Ice anglers
So I learned the easy way to tell the difference between a rainbow trout and a kokanee. The trout has a colored pectoral fin – that fin closest to the gills – while the kokanee’s is clear or white.
And here she comes
Sky watches Luna
Sky puts the puppy sneak on Luna
Great Blue Heron in an old pine snag. In the summer I frequently see Bald Eagles, Osprey and Tree Swallows using this snag
Ice skaters have cleared off part of the ice and made a hockey rink
Benches for changing into skates and a fire pit too!
Luna made a new friend