Winter Blues Buster

So what does one do to drive away the winter blues during 4 days of gray skies, rain and snow....?

1000 piece jigsaw puzzle!  (plus several glasses of wine) 


Just one of the ways to enjoy My Mountain Green when the weather is not cooperating!

From Enchanting to Stunning

Last night I left you with enchanting evening snow images.  Now I take you to Sunday morning between 7:30 and 8:00 am:

Stunning sunshine and crystal blue skies adorn My Mountain Green on this beautiful day!

The Warm Before The Storm

Winter, so far, as been unusual with the lack of snow and warmer than normal temperatures.  You can see from the pictures below, taken on Wednesday, January 18, 2012,  how little snow we have on the ground.  

Looking up driveway into lot with ridge line at top.

Looking out of attached garage.

When a series of storms were forecasted to come in over a 4 day stretch, the question was how much snow would really fall?  What I did not expect was how much rain really fell!  Even at my 5200' elevation, very little snow, but much needed rain.  SnowBasin, Powder Mountain and Wolf Creek Ski Resorts were getting pounded with heavy wet snow. 

On Friday morning, activity in my front trees caught my attention....a flock of 15 Cedar Waxwings and 8 American Robins were gobbling up the remaining berries from the Choke Cherry and Hawthorne trees.  I tried to take a picture, but my camera does not have the zoom capability to see the birds up close. As you look through the trees into the background of the photo, there is more snow in higher elevations, but very little or no snow on the lower ridge line.


Skies were gray and overcast most of Friday with rain returning in the evening continuing all night into Saturday afternoon when the final storm front began to push through the region turning the rain to a mix of snow & rain, then all snow.  


Around 9PM, the transformation from rain to snow began to get absolutely gorgeous!  I could not resist taking a few pictures of the snow, at night, with a flash no less!  I had to laugh at myself for being just like some tourists I have seen taking a picture of the ocean at night with a flash camera.

What an enchanting evening of snow in My Mountain Green!  

Do You See What I See?

As I peer out the window on an early snowy morning, I blink my eyes to make sure that what I think I see is really there. 

Do you see what I see?

"If I stay still maybe she won't see me...." has to be what this Northern Flicker is thinking.

He sits frozen what seems like forever, 

suddenly he flies over to the suet feeder

turning to look straight at me and the camera

as if to say "go away, I want to dine alone".

Encounters with Northern Flickers are very common in My Mountain Green, yet something about trees covered in snow makes the experience extra special.

What a Difference a Day Makes!

It seems I am on a theme with my post titles!  Whether it is year to year or day to day, I do have to laugh at the extremes of my experiences of living in My Mountain Green.  With a sense of humor and a little warmer weather to thaw out part of the ground, I set out the gifts I received from my husband for Christmas.  A flock of Pink Flamingos!  


Yesterday, I shot this photo (2 of the 8 flamingos now in various places of my yard):

This morning, this is how things look:

Seeing snow on my pink flamingos makes me smile and say to myself "just keep thinking tropical"!   Who knows what tomorrow will bring!

O What a Difference a Year Makes!

Can you tell the difference between the photos below?  

You are probably thinking "Well, that's easy! One has a lot of snow and the other one doesn't".  Taken one year (plus a couple of days) apart, the top photo was taken December 30, 2010; the bottom photo was taken today, January 1, 2012. 

This is the first year since moving to Utah just over 14 years ago that we did not have what one would call a "White" Christmas or New Years!  December 2011 has gone down in the record books as the driest December of all time for Utah with .1 inches of snow at SLC airport!  Even at my 5200' elevation, only a few inches of the white fluffy stuff fell from the sky.  

With anticipation of promise and blessing (or impending snow "dumpage"), we can only wait to see what 2012 will bring us.  So far, I enjoy not having to deal with snow removal; yet, sad that I have not been able to snowshoe in my backyard and the ridge above my house. Of course, I still have January and February to come!  

Happy New Year to all!