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Tag Archives: winter

Winter at Home

Christmas is done; it’s almost New Year’s; the Solstice is passed and the days are getting longer. It’s snowing this morning. The sled run is ready to go. Here are a few images from yesterday morning.

Sunrise on Isabella Ridge.
Morning dog walk
Goat Peak and the North Cascades
I wonder if I will like the dead trees better when the red needles are gone?
Our steep icy driveway
My, what a big nose you have, Sky.
Luna just doesn’t like to look at the camera.
Maybe if I have a cookie
My bromliad has four blooms coming on.
Morning

Bee Days

Just last week the temperature got as low as nine below zero, Fahrenheit, at my house. Today and yesterday it was pushing fifty above zero! The weather also brought in some new snow that was greatly appreciated. The warmth brought some stirring to Ken’s bee hives encouraging the honey bees to fly and relieve themselves and do some serious house cleaning. Here are a few of the images I made today. Those with blue backgrounds are on the metal surface that covers the tops of the hives. The bluebird sky makes a nice reflection, don’t you think? Some bees were walking around on the snow.

Ice and Snow

Another fun day outside! Eight of us – four dogs and four women – travelled with classic skis and waxed paws to look at the frozen Falls Creek Falls. Yes, that’s its name.

Falls Creek Falls. It’s a place that we frequently take out of town guests, even the elderly that can’t get around to well, to see in the warmer months. It’s a reasonably short drive from town and the short trail is paved for wheelchairs and the falls are really a sight to see. In the spring and early summer, the water is high and spray cools the air and keeps the surfaces wet and slippery. Later in the summer, it’s a refreshingly cool spot. And fall is lovely with colorful foliage.

I’ve always wanted to see it in the winter but you can’t drive there. The road is closed and maintained for snow machines but that doesn’t mean you can’t ski to it. So when Jennifer said she wanted to go, I was ready. We thought about taking fat bikes but someone said they are not allowed. That left us with classic cross-country skis. I must say, I have not used my classic skis in at least a couple of years having become a devoted skate skier. This year, with little snow in the Cascades I have not done much of any skiing so I figured I may as well dust off the classics and give it a go. Jennifer’s skis are so old (how old are they?) that they have 3 pin bindings! She bought them used more years ago then she cares to say. We recruited MA to join us and she got Christiana to go too (and drive) and we were set. A sno-park pass is required so we needed to cram all of us into one vehicle to make it not too costly. Four women, four dogs and all the ski stuff and other gear – well it takes up some space. And to top it off, the roads were not in good shape – new snow was covering the old ice.

Not only did we have the fun of skiing with our dogs on a day that went from nearly sunny to snowing hard, we also enjoyed the trail to the falls and its icy beauty and on the way back, we stopped to observe some ancient pictographs. It was another fun day in the Methow.

Frida leads the way
Sky is trying to keep up with the big dogs
Now why would I do that?
The puppy sneak
The puppy leap
No wonder Wyatt Ann doesn’t like Sky.
Treats? Anyone got treats for dogs?
No treats here.
Frida is reasoning with Christiana
Treats?
Treats?
What are you looking at?
Note that her paws are not clumped with snow. They have ‘mushers’ wax on them.
You’ve got something on your nose.
Falls Creek from the bridge
The frozen falls
Lots of water coming down
A small hole in the ice
Cedar tree trunks
Pictographs along the road
Sky found something special
Real winter weather
I like the snow

The First Annual Big Wheel Derby at TwispWorks

Uh oh. You can tell that this winter is going to be a long one. The lack of snow is bringing out some real creativity in the valley.

Yesterday Jennifer asked me if I was going to race and I had not a clue what she was referring to. Then she said ‘bring your camera to TwispWorks at noon’. Hmmm. MA knew about the race too and apparently was thinking about entering. She and I had a dog walk this morning and, well, we were a little late but we figured, like many events around here, it might not start quite on time. We were wrong. By the time we got there, most contestants had already had their practice run and their competitive run. MA was convinced to join in the fun and did really well, coming in third place out of about a dozen qualifiers. There were a few rules. Knocking over a cup would cost you time. Going off course would get you disqualified. Costumes were encouraged.

The judge
All the media turned out for this event.
Game Face
Jennifer had a great costume
A silent spectator
Jennifer gives pointers while MA gets outfitted for the race
Equipment adjustment
Practice run
Uh oh
Good thing it was practice
Ready to start for real
It takes some effort to get the thing moving
On the back stretch
Kelly tries again after disqualifying earlier.
Mo won. It was her machine and her idea!

Steve Foreman’s video from the Big Wheel Derby can be seen at the Methow Grist.

 

An American Dipper and a Green Growing Plant

One day, earlier this month, we had a short walk in Big Valley. Normally Luna and I would be skiing out there every week. MVSTA grooms a ski trail and dogs are allowed. But with so little snow, there is no grooming at Big Valley this year. Insert big sad face here.

It’s always fun to get to the river in the winter and watch for American Dippers (formerly referred to as Water Ouzels). These amazing birds with short tails ‘swim’ underwater finding insects anytime of the year. In the winter they are on the main river. During high water and breeding season they go to the smaller tributaries to make their nests and raise their young.

The dipper is standing on a rock in the middle of the river, balanced on one foot, and scratching its ear. Birds are amazing.
There are quite a few of these plants growing in a little side channel. Do you know what they are?