Month: May 2021

It was a bizarre weekend here on the mountain top. Many folks are visiting and returning, and a young man in an older white Tacoma with stripes on it needs to slow down climbing these hills. That boys drives way, way too fast and traversed the Schierl hill by my house three times in less than an hour. If I see him again, I shall surely speak to the lad. Please let me know if you happen to recognize him from my description. He is a danger out here.

The weather, however, started Saturday with a windy, dusty, mud filled rain the covered everything it passed. Every window, and the house itself, is coated. Company arrives this weekend, so there is much clean up to do . Dusty rain was a new experience for me, and I am curious if such is common down here.

Sunday things changed again, awakening in a fog, but one outside, not within. Humidity was at 97%, moisture was visibly blowing by, and the temperatures hovered about 32 degrees. Over the course of the day, the icy fog built up to the point where I went out with a stepladder and broom, freeing some trees before they toppled and snapped.

Here is a close up view of the ice building up on individual pine needles.

The Month of May began with winter wishing to push a final attempt. The day after I relocated all my vehicles back up to the homestead, we got another burst of snow, a few new inches up here on the mountain top. Day broke with an ethereal feel.

The snow is already gone. The sun now relentlessly rising higher every day and the temperatures are readily returning to Spring. Aspens are budding here several weeks earlier than the county I lived in for twenty years, and that is a much welcome sight. I cannot express that enough; six to eight weeks less winter than my last home? That can make a man smile.

One snow drift, however, remains. North side, devoid of sun most of the day, and evidence of what once was.

The snow is vanishing, even in the dark, shadowy stretches of most roads now. The temperatures remain above freezing overnight, and hit nearly sixty five yesterday. This formerly dry, unbonded, constantly migrating snow is being driven straight into the ground. I was glad for it, but do not miss it and relish in its departure.

Save for the upper edges of Schierl Road above Rees and the top back side of Powers, the park is fully navigable. As of yesterday, the Jeep, the truck, and Moon Bug are all back at the homestead, no longer needing to be scattered about the park at given access points.

Deer have returned, hummingbirds are in the air, turkeys are wandering about, ptarmigans are strutting and seeking mates, baby rabbits are joining their parents on morning outings, and there is much to revel in here. Aspens are budding, insects are crawling, and yes, the ROUSs have returned in glorious fashion.