And now for…

Something completely different. Yesterday we woke to fog, mist and later on rain. All day long was a study in mist and moisture. The plants loved it. My asthma hated it and it was one of those stay warm kinda days.

Dan took us to Wonderful House for dinner. On the drive to Trinidad, we got to watch the fog roll in, the clouds hang low and the rain fall. Lovely. It was like being in England again.

Today, we woke to blue skies and sunshine. Mother Nature, you are one crazy woman at the moment! Hope you stay calm for the next 24 hours. I have to drive up to Cheyenne to pick up Daniel. His sweetie’s sister is getting married on Saturday.

Dust Storm!

Yesterday got a little windy. In fact, it sounded like it was raining… that tap-tap-tap of raindrops got my attention. I looked out the front door and realized that there were no mountains. (yah… no Spanish Peaks!) Then I realized that the cloud was actually dust. The Cuchara Ridge disappeared as did Ideal Road. That’s when we realized that the dust was really flying.

Dan and I ran to close doors and windows as the dust/sand poured in with the wind. It was nasty! It sounded like rain, but it was dirt and dust hitting the house. I’m sure that the windows on the west side are etched.

About an hour after it started, the wind settled down and we could once more see Ideal Road. It took a bit longer and by sunset, we could see the Spanish Peaks again. Every surface we touched had a fine layer of dust. Ugh!

And Now…. the heat.

Am I going to complain? NO. We’ve had some lovely rain, and right now it is trying to rain, even though it isn’t hitting the ground. We are working on getting use to Celsius temperature readings, so my atomic clock says that it is now 33C outside. (about 92F) A little warm, but much nicer than -12C. (10F)

On Mother’s Day we did a bunch of gardening. Keep in mind that our yard is Still a construction site. I just get more bits and pieces piling up. On Sunday, we made a tire garden out front on the steps to block access. Before you think I’m crazy, you need to understand that those stairs slant Downhill! They are a danger. So, we are blocking them and adding new steps to the side where everyone walks already. The first two pieces of wood are in place and the steps will be finished in the next week. We plan to add terracing and more herbs out front as well.

In the back, we fixed a piece of fencing with a piece of the old gate. It isn’t a perfect fit, but looks like it has been there a while. We opened up the rest of the gate area which will help the lilac bush.

Then we started building the potting bench. It’s an old cupboard that we’ve attached a door to that will eventually be painted and have a roof. Right now, it works well. On top of that, we repurposed a chunk of old gutter. We’ve attached it to the fence, filled it with dirt and planted lettuce seeds and onion seeds in it.

In the back, where we moved the old tin fence 90 degrees, we have built a raised bed. I added some paving ย bricks and will be building a second raised bed to the south of that. Once we got that done, we fell into our chairs and collapsed. It was a great, long busy day.

Here are the pictures… Citronella on the front porch. The bulls head planter, green tire with mint, stairs, raised beds, and potting bench.

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Colorado, the Menopausal State

Last Tuesday, we went from warm to freezing snow storm. Probably 2 inches of the stuff. Then it got warm. 70’s. We had a couple of cool nights, but nothing dire. I even packed away most of the winter clothes. And before you laugh and tell me it’s all my fault for packing away the clothes, keep in mind it has been Hot! Warm! Sunny! In fact, today it has been as high as 74F. (9% humidity and 20-25mph gusts)

However, wait… hold on… Tonight the temps are due to drop to the mid 30’s and we are suppose to have snow again by 5am. ย (humidity 45%)ย If we are lucky, we might have as much as 4 to 8 inches of snow accompanied by 50 mph winds. Yes, a blizzard. Akkkk!

So, I am hauling wood into the house. The stove is ready to lite and we will be going over to my parents to chop wood. Such fun. I am wondering if this year will be like the one we had in 1993, where May 1st was greeted with 5 inches of snow. Brr….

Tomorrow’s school board meeting will be fun. Ugh.

Maybe by June the weather will be nice.

Blizzard!

If I had waited just a bit, I could have written about yesterday. I woke up early thinking it was a little cold. Just a tad. Brandy was curled up deep in her blankets and when I looked outside it was snowing. Between the winds and the size of the flakes, it looked like I was in the middle of a snow globe. I went back to bed.

A few hours later, we all got up. I made breakfast and we ate it in the dining room. Out the windows, we were able to watch the wind slew the snow sideways, and the cars not cope well with the icy roads. Once breakfast was done, we moved into the guest house and fired up the wood stove. While the temperatures dropped to as low as 14, we were toasty warm. Morgan reigned from the bed while Dan used a tv tray. I had my desk, which faces the windows and let me watch the storm. That snow globe weather didn’t stop until nearly 6pm.

Rather than cook, we splurged. Yeah Taco Bell! ๐Ÿ™‚ It’s funny when we go there, because one of the staff is a friend and she knows what I want before I speak most days. Okay, I’m not very adventurous, but at least it isn’t difficult to take the cheese out of what I want to eat. Dan and Morgan pigged out on chicken tenders while I had tacos. Then we came home, fed the wood stove and chatted, played on the computers until midnight and in general had a good time.

Today the sun is shining and the temps so far have hit 40F. That’s good, as we have to take Morgan back to college today. sigh… I’m just happy we had her for a week. She gets to take home transport this time. Her half brother Matt finished her bicycle at long last. Her commute has just dropped to 5 minutes. We head to La Junta later this afternoon.ย March Blizzard3

March Madness

I could have entitled this post Yet one more snow storm… but I didn’t. On Mach 8th, we had more snow. 14 inches all total. Brandy was not a happy dog.

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Then on the 15th, Dan went to La Junta to pick up our daughter, Morgan. It is spring break for her. On Sunday, we drove to the Sand Dunes NP. We had a long drive over all, as we went all the way up to Crestone and to the Karma Thegsum Tashi Gomangย  It had just started to snow when we headed up the road to the Stupa.ย ย By the time we got up to it, it was snowing very hard, so instead of getting out and looking around, we headed back down the mountain. In less than 20 minutes, there had been over 2 inches of snowfall.

On our way back to the Sand Dunes, we saw over 100 Sand Hill Cranes. It was really neat. The rest of our animal count that day was two hawks flying and about 45 prong horn antelope.

The Sand Dunes also got a dusting of snow. The moisture made the walking easier. Morgan climbed up to the second highest dune and rolled down it twice. Plus she hiked about twice the distance that Dan and I did. I walked the creek bed of Medano Creek. It wasn’t very far down the dunes yet, and there was a lot of fire debris from the forest fire two years ago. Overall, we had a really good time and came home exhausted.

The rest of the week has been spent relaxing. Morgan has had naps with her naps. ๐Ÿ™‚ I’ve been writing and doing hand crafts. I’ve been carving Nalbinding needles. They fit in with my Viking persona in the SCA. I may be good enough to actually show it off come time for Battlemoor.

Nalbinding needles.16Oh, and just in case Colorado thought that it might give us a week off, there is more snow due on Saturday. sigh..

 

 

Yet Another Blizzard

Yes, it is snowing again. We’ve had a lot of snow since I wrote last. Probably 18 inches all total. Life in it’s own way has been crazy. We took my dad up to Colorado Springs for cancer testing. His bladder cancer is back and they will begin chemo in about two weeks. While we were at the hospital, Dan got some sort of stomach bug which has kicked his ass. Ugh.

He was nearly over it by the time we went up to the Colorado Association of School Board’s Winter Conference over Valentine’s Day. CASB’s conference was good and a fellow board member, David Tesitor went with me this year. Things in general with the school board are settling down. We just finished the superintendent’s evaluation. We work on her contract on Tuesday. I had been writing a separate blog about school board stuff, but simply couldn’t keep up with it. I’m working on writing more on my NaNoWriMo story which is a little more involved that I thought it would be.

On our way home, we stopped at IKEA. ๐Ÿ™‚ We got new dishes, a kettle, a BIG cup for Morgan and some little bits and pieces. It was a good but tiring day.

Since we came home, it’s been running errands, general housekeeping stuff, electrical work at The Cowboy Connection for ย Marianne Smithey and stacking a ton of wood. We bought a cord and I think we got closer to a cord and a half. ๐Ÿ™‚

About that snow… I could just recycle the pictures. You’d never really know. However, here are the latest out our window.

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As predicted, it began to snow around 11am. My son Bryan and the two grandboys, Gavin and Talon were due to visit around 1pm. They made it just before it started to snow heavily. We had a good visit and I gave them some things that Dan and I just don’t use anymore. It saved me a trip to Dorcas Circle, and them a trip to the store. ๐Ÿ™‚ Plus, he brought me an armload of firewood. Wheee!

I gave the boys two books I’ve had for them which they were so excited about. ๐Ÿ™‚ Who knew that Peter Rabbit and Goodnight Moon would bring such smiles. They devoured two apples and half a dozen gingersnaps while I made potato soup for dinner. When they said goodbye, Talon told me “I love you to the Moon and back.” Pretty good for a three year old. ๐Ÿ™‚

 

Rain!!!!!!

Okay, it isn’t often I post three times in ONE day… We are in the midst of one hell of a rain/hail/thunderstorm. Wow! Brandy of course is barking and trying to attack the lightning at the same time she hides from the thunder. Silly MUDDY dog!

Of course, I will have fun cleaning up the Wendy House. We still have a few leaks. Dan is reorganizing the office and back porch, so I am staying out of the way. ๐Ÿ™‚

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Heavenly Cloud Cover!

After nearly two weeks of 100 degree days, it is Finally cool. Yesterday, was the first day in Pueblo that only made it to 97. We are south of Pueblo, but we are usually close to the same temperatures. It’s been so hot that I’ve had issues with my laptop overheating!

The day we cut the weeds in the front yard it was 98. It rained, and we just stayed working as the moisture felt so good. Granted, we were dry by the time we finished. I now have a lovely brown front yard with designer rock piles. ๐Ÿ™‚ I stacked the various rocks in little towers where possible because I didn’t know what to do with all of them and having them line the sidewalks was a pain. We plan to tackle the back yard today or tomorrow. Maybe. ๐Ÿ™‚

It rained yesterday. A nice heavy but constant shower that soaked the dusty ground. And of course, the rains have been across the state which helps the fire danger, but also makes those area prone to flash floods. sigh… However, I plan to enjoy my cool morning! It’s 60 degrees! 86% humidity and only a 5mph breeze! Wheeeee!

Akkkk! Where did May Go?

I’ve been so busy, that I haven’t had time to post. At least not on this blog. May has been chock o block with meetings. The school board stuff has been running me in circles. For those activities, go to my other blog, Untapped Potential.

Our weather has been weird for May. Hot, cold, windy, cold! We even had a few days when it rained in town, but snowed up in the mountains.

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Work has been slow, so I’ve been vacuuming my parent’s house. Mom is 75, so I see no problem with this. Plus it means I get to visit with her at least once a week.

A friend of mine posted a neat website. All about INFJ’s. ๐Ÿ™‚ Yeah, me. Visit it here, here and here. After reading that last page… no wonder I’m a good hugger! I love the posters too. They are a riot.

The rest of this month will be taken up with three graduations, negotiations and a trip with my parents to Las Vegas, N.M.ย  We’re going down to Charlie’s bakery. Best tortillas in the world. ๐Ÿ™‚

Oh, last but not least, a friend of mine is illustrating my story, Fairy Light!