Snowy Outing to Bonners Ferry

It was a four-eagle day for us yesterday, maybe even five.  

We all saw three eagles perched in cottonwoods along the Kootenai River.  Bill and Annie saw another while snow shoeing in the National Wildlife Refuge, and Annie thought she may have seen a dead eagle on a hillside slope along the highway as we drove to Bonners Ferry. 

My snow shoe straps have been adjusted, and now it's a piece of cake to slip in, tighten the straps and take off.  

The dogs and I spent some time packing down more trails around the yard in the morning.  Then, after a nice visit with my next-door neighbor Bev and her daughter Kari, three of us Love's loaded up and headed north. 

Willie was busy with his Lady Bulldogs, who won their game against Pullman at a holiday tournament in Spokane.  And, Debbie was back at work at the Food Bank. 

We made the most of our trip, with Bill tending to some IFM duties at the county courthouse and Annie searching out a few geocaches.  I think the snow cover made her searches more difficult than usual. 

Snow shoeing was pretty easy because someone had already beaten down a trail before our arrival.  I don't often say this about the bird refuge, but yesterday's "sameness" and the bleakness of the day made it difficult to take spectacular photos. 

Every single time I looked up toward the dike to my right, it seemed as if the bushes and trees were the same bushes and trees I'd seen on my last glance that direction.

Once the monotony was broken by movement off to the northwest.  First, one deer, then about half a dozen moved northward far across the vast expanse of wetlands.  Soon after that, we turned around and headed back.  

Bill announced at the turnaround that we had tromped a mile, so my new snowshoes now have 2-plus miles of usage.  And, they seem to work quite well. 

Later, we enjoyed a meal at Kootenai River Brewing Co.  Plus, Annie bought herself a lottery ticket at Super 1 and her folks those tasty 25-cent ice cream cones from the Super 1 deli. 

Twas probably good that we went on our outing when we did because the U.S. National Weather Service in Spokane is forecasting a monster snow storm for our area with estimates of up to 24 inches within the next 48 hours.

The storm, according to the forecast is supposed to begin around 4 this afternoon and taper off on Saturday.  Well, if the storm hasn't begun, I'm curious about how bad it's gonna be cuz we already have a steady snowfall this morning. 

With a lot of residents caught off guard during the last big dump, weather forecasters are suggesting fallen trees and power outages and cautioning folks to get prepared. 

So, I'm guessing winter is announcing an emphatic presence.  Annie seems a bit excited because she's looking forward to doing some plowing. Of course, we won't complain.

Shoveling, blowing and plowing get old pretty fast as we all get older ourselves. 

We'll try to stay on top of it, but that's not always that easy with Mother Nature's plans.  

My greatest hope today is that the power stays on long enough for us to watch the ZAGS conference opener tonight at 6 p.m. PST on ESPN2.  

GO, ZAGS!  Happy Thursday to all. 

I took this in the morning while the dogs and I were having fun in the yard.