March Mish-Mash

Whew!  March whizzed past quickly this year.  The beginning of the month had lots of snow up here in the basin, while the town of Gardiner proper (in the valley) lost the snow accumulation.  Up in the mountains, the piles of plowed snow on the ranch loomed higher and higher:

Meanwhile, the bison in Yellowstone were on the move out of the park amid much controversy.  Some bison have brucellosis, a disease that could be transferred to cattle.  The policy has been to 'haze', or harass the bison back into the park.  So far, the bison don't 'get it'.  They are happy to follow their instinct of wandering for dormant grass to graze, and with an animal this big, one hesitates to argue.

A herd of 14 decided to take our mountain road upwards and onwards to find better pasture.  A good part of this dirt road has steep hills on either side, and holds about 1 1/2 cars.  They quickly took over the road...

Dan got this photo of the determined buffalo as they marched upwards.  Shortly after, a park ranger drove up ahead of the pack and forced them back down:

I was AWOL from Montana March 15-29, when I flew across the pond and spent a week each with Rachel/Paul and Erika/Ben.  It was wonderful to visit both of our girls and 'significant others'- to see how where they live, have fun visiting their towns, staying up late for silly and serious chit chat, and enjoying each others' company.  Here's a great photo of Rachel and Erika:

Erika's belly is getting bigger by the day, and she has an early August delivery date.  Mama and baby are doing fine.

Once back home, the snow was s-l-o-w-l-y melting.... until yesterday.  A mini mountaintop snow storm added several inches and was a strong reminder that Spring will is not ready to visit.  It was lovely to see all the green grass and blooming plants in the UK!  Sigh.....

And It's Only Monday....

I got the day off today by default.

It was supposed to be an 'all hands on deck' day to do an annual cleaning of the main lodge.  But....

Intermittent snow and a weekend of blowing sheets of wind/snow have left the roads closed (again) with snowdrifts.  One truck is stuck in a drift, and at 3 large equipment snow vehicles are broken.  Temperatures have ranged from -12 to 18 degrees this morning.

So the most of the menfolk are out repairing vehicles and clearing what snow they can.  Dan is in the woodshop building a storage box for the horses.

It's a good day to be inside...... :)

A Midwinter's Night Dream...

Alas, all you who yearn for the kiss of Caribbean sun and sandy beach.  And you, who wail about the travails of cold and snow.... who think the flakes of frozen water are dismal and dull.  Those who think joy comes in hot glazed days or warm humid nights.....  the secrets of Winter are alive for the solitary souls that understand the beauty of the cold.    anonymous

Thank you, Paul for the beautiful photos...... :)

January Silence

After a lovely holiday and a fabulous time making memories with Rachel and Paul, our life has shifted back to the flow of normal life.  Weather on the mountain can be quite different than down in the valley by Gardiner.  The town has had warmer weather, where the roads are often clear and downright muddy.  They get rain; we get snow.  Our basic snow pack of 2+ feet has never left, and this morning we woke up to 4-5 new inches of fluff.  Prior to the new addition, we had a weekend of intense blowing snow.  The valley we live in (called the Cinnabar Basin) funnels the wind coming down the mountains and makes quite a stew of swirling snow.  "Ground blizzard" is what it's called when it's in crazy mode.  The winds comes from all directions, and sheets of snow life up from the ground and take off.

This morning the wind was gone, and everything was still.  We are literally living in the clouds; what looks like fog are cloud formations clinging to the ground.  All the mountains surrounding us are invisible:

Although the roads were plowed and cleared on Saturday, by now they have disappeared again, and the ranch manager was out starting to open a trail so everyone can get out and on to the work of opening the roads once again.  This is a daily chore that takes up a good part of the day....

It's a different world up here.  Good for someone who likes solitude and their own space. 

It's beautiful........

December/Holiday Tidbits....

We're waiting for Christmas with great anticipation, and wish that everyone we know and love has a wonderful holiday!  It's snowing again, but the total accumulation is only about 2 feet now....there were a couple of days temps were above freezing and the snow levels sunk down a bit.  Locals say this is the snowiest November they have seen in years.  We've heard that a herd of 5000-6000 bison are migrating from Yellowstone to the Gardiner area.  I'm excited about seeing hordes of buffalo wandering around town.  We already see deer and elk browsing in the yards.

Here's a photo of Dan clearing off the deck from an earlier snowfall..... yes, we do grill year-round...

And here's an introduction to our new family member!  Pepper is an 8 month old giant schnauzer/border collie mix who's been an absolute gem.  Dan and I both miss Tucker a lot, but he's living a well pampered life in Michigan with his prior doggy daycare sitter.  He's much safer there- at only 8 lbs, there were too many ways to get eaten or killed in Montana.

Pepper came to us named Susie, but I couldn't get used to calling her that- it seemed strange calling her the name of a childhood friend.  We thought the name Pepper fit her well, and so far, she seems to agree.  Pepper is about 40 lbs, and one of the most mellow, calm dogs I've ever met.  We are all bonding well and she's a great fit for us. My deepest thanks to her previous owner for giving us the opportunity to add her to our family.

Dan thinks she looks a bit like a raccoon with her gray face.  I got her a pink snazzy collar along with the other doggy things we needed.  She's a winner!

We're excited about Rachel and Paul coming to visit for the holiday- keep your fingers crossed they get out of the London airport tomorrow!  Right now it's closed, but they are planning a full re-opening tomorrow.

Merry Christmas, everyone!

You Can Have THIS, or You Can Have THAT

 

The popular commercial featuring hamsters driving a ‘cool’ car to rap music brings to mind the difference in our lives Out West versus our past lives in the the Columbus, Ohio area.  There’re a lot of differences- neither one good nor bad, but very different.  Figuring the current THIS is Montana and THAT was 25 years living in Columbus, here’s a comparison:

THIS:  People never lock their doors, and many even leave their keys in the car at home.

THAT: Our homes had security systems and were always locked; one would never leave their car unlocked, much less leave the keys there.

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THIS: There’s lots of snow.

THAT: Little snow, lots of ice and drizzle.

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THIS: Few neighbors and wide open spaces.

THAT: No matter how hard you try to get away, you’ll still hear the hum of cars on a road or highway.

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THIS: ‘Fast food’ is a 15 mile drive to get a burger in a bar.

THAT:  Fast food has many options, including Chipotle (sigh…)

  

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THIS:  Fancy food is either: a 15 mile drive to get a burger in a bar, or a 65 mile drive to a restaurant (sigh…)

THAT: Your choice of restaurants, style of cuisine, etc. etc.

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THIS: Fly fishing can lead to some hum-dingers of trout….

THAT: Fly fishing in the O’Shaunessy reservoir might lead to a couple of carp.

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THIS: Wolves can kill and eat an elk 300 yards from your home.

THAT: Your neighbor’s teens could have a wild party 300 yards from your home.

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THIS: A traffic jam in Gardiner happens because of deer, elk and bison wandering the streets.

THAT: A Traffic jam in Columbus is caused by cars, not animals....

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THIS: Drive to work is ½ mile; drive views include snow and lots of elk…

THAT: Drive to work was all over town; drive views included homes, asphalt and traffic lights.

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THIS: Fashion and fun is designer cowgirl boots and a rodeo.

THAT: Fashion and fun was a buckeye necklace and an OSU football game.

Cold, Silent, Beautiful

My thanks to Don for these photos-

In the summer, this is a deck.

And this birdhouse defies gravity!  I'm sure the birds are much happier in the climate of the South......