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More Colors in the Sky

The annual Winthrop Balloon Roundup was this weekend. Luckily, I went Friday morning. It snowed yesterday and today so the balloons did not go up as planned. Someone said a few went up yesterday afternoon and last night they had the big balloon glow with four of the hot air balloons inflated and lighting up downtown after dark. I missed that too.

They aim to start inflating about 7 am. Before that, there is a lot of work to do, unpacking the balloons and getting the lines straightened out, hooking up the baskets, testing the burners and so on. There were lots of spectators armed with cameras and cell phones. Many people were signed up for rides too. Once the balloons were up in the air, they did not move very far as the air currents were slow on Friday. A couple made it as far as the airport to land in the nearby fields.

Last Night’s Aurora part two

Last night’s show of the Aurora Borealis was unbelievable. The lights were moving as if in a celestial dance. They glowed, made curtains, pillars, and moved throughout the sky from the northwest to the northeast and back again, sometimes filling the entire northern sky. They towered high above the horizon. They were green, red, pink and clouds glowed purple. Moonlight splashed a glowing light on the snow-covered landscape.

I could have made photos all night. These are from around 11 til midnight. The last batch was from 9:30 til 10:30 or so. Later Ken woke me at 4 am and said I really should get up to see them again. We just stood in awe of the scenes we were seeing. I did not get the camera out again. It was truly an unbelievable experience.

Last Night’s Aurora part one

Last night’s show of the Aurora Borealis was unbelievable. The lights were moving as if in a celestial dance. They glowed, made curtains, pillars, and moved throughout the sky from the northwest to the northeast and back again, sometimes filling the entire northern sky. They towered high above the horizon. They were green, red, pink and clouds glowed purple. Moonlight splashed a glowing light on the snow-covered landscape.

Rocks Water Ice

And dogs. I had to go to the Okanogan to do some business yesterday and a friend suggested a short field trip to look for birds. I could hardly turn it down given that there are almost no birds around here, not even at the feeders. It was nice to be somewhere that was nearly without snow although it was cold and windy and ice was forming in the littlest places. We saw a few ducks and Bald Eagles and magpies. Geology of the place is very different from here. You really should click through the photos to see the rock details. The dogs were happy to get their feet wet. I did not encourage them to go swimming. They also were delighted to find lots of sticks of various sizes!

Winter Dog Walking

The snow has a frozen crust and it’s easy to walk across the top of it. This is great because much of our road is covered in ice and treacherous for walking. Yesterday, the girls and I walked to the top of the hill. We haven’t been there in many months. The views are outstanding and sometimes we get to see coyote or deer but not yesterday. We did see new survey markers and new fencing with new ‘no trespassing’ signs along it. A bunch of the land up there is for sale or has already sold so we can expect changes in the future. Change is inevitable.

Speaking of change, Willow looks more and more like a dog but still has a puppy brain. Sky says she is an alligator and maybe we should return her! Willow is quite playful and Sky has never been playful so sometimes the puppy is a bit much. Willow adores Sky and wants to do everything she does, plus have lots of fun. She does stay close and mostly comes when called. We have many training opportunities with her.

We enjoyed the sunshine and cold temperatures and endless views. We also noted that some of the deciduous trees and shrubs STILL have last year’s leaves. Most notably, serviceberry (or Saskatoon), aspen and elderberry. Some of the aspen trees’ buds are already swelling so the leaves need to go!

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