When You Post A Timely Photo...

 Last week I needed to post a picture for my "Pic Of The Day." I could have gone outside and taken yet another photo of the incredible amounts of snow we've received this winter and spring. Instead, an idea came to me. I went downstairs to our bookshelves, did a little searching, and found what I was looking for...

Laura Ingalls Wilder's classic, The Long Winter.

I thought it was funny, so I posted it.

It was, in a word, a hit.

I read these books when I was in elementary school. We've read them in our homeschool to all our kids as they grew up. The stories hold a special place in my heart and I hope kids and adults alike will continue reading these books for generations to come.

It seems many others remember the books, too. The posted photo generated many responses...likes, laughs, and several commented that they remembered the series, and The Long Winter in particular. The fact that we have been experiencing our own long winter added to the timely photo.

This morning, we got another couple of inches of snow. Then the sun came out and all that snow is gone, as is (hopefully...) any new snow until next fall. I'd like to say I believe this was the last snowstorm of the year.

That's what I said during the last storm, and the storm before that...

And the storm before that.

One of these times, that statement will be true. Who knows...maybe someone will write a book about our long winter.

Sorry...But It's Beautiful

Yesterday, while waiting for our youngest's class to end, my wife and I sat in the parking lot as a spring snowstorm pelted our car.

Sorry, but it was beautiful.

Everyone's sick of winter in our state, and for good reason. It's the winter that never ends. It just goes on and on, my friends. I lowered the car window and listened to frozen grains of water fall and strike the car next to mine. The tiny balls of ice bounced off previously fallen snow coming to rest nearby.

There is an undeniable beauty in a frozen world. 

Yes, after waiting for our son to finish class, we had to drive through the storm to get home where the storm (or the latest one...) had already passed. We went inside and were glad we no longer had to navigate the snowy streets. And the winter-weather-in-spring is predicted to continue for at least a week.

It's easy to bemoan and complain about the snow and the cold, especially after the holidays. It's easy to wish it all away and in our minds replace it with warmer days, blossoms on the trees and flowers escaping their earthy cocoons to kiss the sun. But the color of snow is the same before Christmas as after. We're so excited for snow for the holidays and once January hits, it's no longer picturesque, no longer quaint, no longer beautiful...

But, it is still beautiful--you just have to take a second look.

 

Ever Seen Tremonton Lake...?

 When we moved here a few years ago, several people have told us they once lived in Tremonton or the surrounding area. It's been fun posting pictures of the area and receiving comments from many with fond (and not so fond...) memories of the place we now call home. But today, we saw something that many who've lived here all their lives have rarely seen...

Tremonton Lake.

Yes, it you drive north from Kent's Market toward Garland, to your right you'll see a beautiful lake that's about half a mile wide and a couple of miles long. 

This lake didn't exist last week.

And hopefully, it'll be gone soon.

It's not too deep--in part of the video you can see a livestock fence partially submerged. Thankfully, the newly-formed lake exists in a floodplain--we haven't heard of any flooding from this. Normally, there's a small river that serpentines back and forth and it flows south. It's a pretty little valley when there's no run off, but this year, you could waterski on this body of water. 

Since this is a generational winter as far as precipitation goes, I don't expect this lake to be around very long. Then again, since we've not lived here long, this sort of thing might happen all the time and the water may stick around. Time will tell. 

Driving by, I think it would be cool for the city to put up a dam and have a public lake for fishing, waters sports, even as a beautiful jewel in the middle of the community. But, since they've had the opportunity to dam the river all this time, it's obvious the locals don't want it.

Still, I'd love to get some awesome photos of sunrises and sunsets at Tremonton Lake.

Maybe one day...

I Can See Greenery Now The Snow Is Gone...

 This winter season has been, in a word, crazy. Like many places across our country, we've broken precipitation records and currently have record snowpack in our mountains. With some recent warmer temperatures, it's been a while since I've seen so much green in our back yard.

Truth be told, it's not so much green, but sort of a green/tan combination as the grass has been under literal feet of snow for months. It's finally breaking through, however, thanks in part of a dog who loves to play fetch even when the balls thrown to him disappear under several inches of snow.

We put in the fence last spring. it's turned out to be a great decision. The dog can just run and run. It's weird seeing the snow drifts along the edge of the fence, though. We're lucky we didn't need to open the gates for any reason. We'd have to do even more shoveling.

Since this is the first "big winter" for us here, we're not sure how the area will handle this much snow. Apparently, the hill on which we live is known for the natural springs underneath the streets and homes. I take it that's a good sign, but even the best areas can have too much water. I guess we'll just have to wait and see what happens.

It's good to see the lawn. We're supposed to get rain tonight (yes, more precipitation...) which will reduce the snow even more. As I walked around with the dog this afternoon, the grass squished beneath my shoes. One day soon, we'll be we able to don our shorts, sit outside as we try and avoid the mosquitoes, and enjoy spring.

Unless, the snow keeps coming.

Yes...It's Windy Here

 Yes, it's windy here.

It's one of the first things we noticed after relocating...the wind. I'm not anti-wind. In fact, I'd love a way to harness it and somehow have it power things in my home. 

Would it work?

Let me put it this way. A neighbor a few homes down put in a windmill--not one of those cosmetic ones we had, but one designed to capture the power of the wind. The wind was so strong, it blew the blade off the pole and it slammed into their home. Since then, it was not put back up.

A few weeks ago I was at my mother-in-law's house (her's is also a few homes away from ours...) and she proudly showed off her dangling icicle. I snapped a photo and shared it to the world. As you can tell, icicles don't lean like this one does. Gravity guarantees the water will take the path of least resistance and fall straight down, unless an action is forced upon it. That force is wind.

When our little town was the coldest dwelling in the state last week, it was the wind that caused it to be so cold. Lately, however, the wind has taken a break...thankfully.

This is our third winter here. We know the wind will return--it's the one constant for all four seasons...

Except, there's no outside icicles in summer.

Come On, Boy...It's Too Darn Cold!

We have a smart dog. I know many people believe they too have a smart dog. It's natural to feel that way. I have some statistics to back up part of my claim. According to TheSmartCanine.Com, Poodles rank as the second smartest dog breed.

So, there's some science. To see for yourself, you can visit the webpage by clicking: HERE.

Last spring we put in a backyard fence. A big reason for doing this was the dog. Poodles are not only smart, but they need exercise. They could run and run all day long. Putting in the fence was one of those things we wanted to do ever since we got the dog years ago. And because we have a fence, I started to play fetch with him after my work day ended. I've blogged about it several times, mostly because I have a blast doing it (probably not as much as him, but, you know...). 

The dog and I played fetch almost every day. In the summer, it worked out perfectly. There was still sunshine after I logged off the computer. Except for the mosquitos, summer was great. As the seasons changed, the days became shorter and shorter. Our dog, not knowing how to tell time (as far as we can tell...) would use the sun's location to get antsy when he felt it was time to go outside and play fetch...either that, or he could tell the time to fetch was drawing close by our actions.

Either way, the dog knew when it was time for us to go outside. I trained him well.

Even though the summer has issues, it's nothing compared to winter, especially this last week when temperatures dropped to below 0 degrees. Throw in several inches of snow and you have some undesirable conditions for fetch playing.

The dog doesn't care.

Between 4pm and 5pm the dog leaves his warm and comfortable couch and hangs out outside my office door. As 5pm gets closer, he sometimes scratches at the door with his paws. Even though I know he's disappointed, we've not played during those cold days. It's really for his own good.  

Yesterday, I thought it was warm enough to return to the backyard. We didn't stay out long, but the dog loved chasing that ball and throwing up snow. Yes, I've trained him too darn well.