Cold Tuesday Twitterdeedum

Just in time!  Lily and Lefty went to their barn stalls just in time yesterday afternoon to miss the first blustery blast of winter.  

When the wild winds and blowing snow began, they were tucked away for the night, as were the cats AND---I thought---the dogs.

Bill and I were watching the Seahawks game, figuring that Willie or Debbie would soon arrive to pick up Brooke and Todd. 

I kept hearing dogs bark in the garage and a banging noises--- sorta like someone was coming in.  This went on for more than half an hour, with nobody ever appearing around the corner from the living room.

When a commercial break came during the game, I discovered the source of the noise:  wild wind sending snow flakes fluttering in circles and bird feeders banging against metal or even against each other.  

Visibility was low, and I worried about what driving Selle Road must be like.  Bill had already reported a pretty dicy trip down the road while coming home around 4:45.

Once I discovered the source of the noise, I went to the garage to find the door wide open, Kiwi and Kea, loungingt on the couch but no sign of Brooke and Todd.

You see Brooke has recently perfected a new talent:  she knows how to open doors from the inside out.  

So, at our home, when we see dogs running about when dogs are supposed to be safely in the garage, we don't have to ask "Who let the dogs out?" 

We know.  

It's just that we're still not quite used to the fact that we have a talented canine escape artist, so we still don't remember to shut the door in such a way to make it Brooke-proof.

Anyway, Brooke and Todd weren't too far from the house.  Each covered with a layer of powdery snow, they both happily returned to the garage.

Later, Willie arrived and reported that driving on Selle Road was a "white-out," meaning little or no visibility. 

The wild storm lasted for about two hours and then quit as quickly as it started.  This storm blew in on a day when I had gone outside a couple of times with no coat.   

I was glad that I had finally prepared the stalls for Lily and Lefty's winter stint indoors.  

An automatic waterer has been causing problems in Lefty's stall, so yesterday I figured out a solution to avoid having a perennial drip, drip overflow from the waterer turn his floor into a skating rink. 

The two horses were happy campers this morning when I opened the barn door.  Soon they were happily munching on hay in their outdoor shelter while I was rounding up horse apples in their stalls for the first time this year. 

Breakfast boys from radio station K102.5 were up to their usual recap of the previous night's TV highlights.  In this morning's case, they touched on the Seattle win over New Orleans, Carrie Underwood's upcoming appearance in the Sound of Music and other items related to country singers. 

So, on this gorgeous cold morning, I'm finished with chores and looking up at a hot pink mountain to the north of Schweitzer.  

Schweitzer, whether it knows it or not, will reach a big milestone tomorrow. 

Except for the cold temps, conditions will probably be exactly like they were on that Wednesday, Dec. 4, 1963, when the community saw the seed sprout for a future as a destination ski resort.   

Blue skies and sunshine and beautiful snow greeted those first-day pioneers, and I'm betting a bunch of them will show up on the mountain tomorrow.  If time allows, I might just go up and take some photos. 

Fifty years ago, our family simply watched the cars go north on Boyer, turn at the end of our woods onto "the back road" as we used to call Woodland Drive.  Later that day, we watched the steady stream of car lights headed back toward town in the darkness. 

We went up to the resort a week or so later, as a family,  and marveled at it all, but a few years passed before any of us gave skiing a try.  And, it will be many, many moons before I ever do again.  To put it lightly, skiing was not my forte.  

Give me some snow shoes or dry ground, and I'm happy.

That sun and blue sky make me happy on this Tuesday morning.  Wishing a pleasant day to all.