White Christmas Wishes!

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

My Mountain Green will enjoy a White Christmas this year!

Life has finally settled down a bit.  Hope to post more often in the new year!

Frozen Fun!

Last week's cold front brought in cold temps, rain and snow.  

Just a dusting on the peaks near my house.

On Saturday morning, the sun shone brightly with blue skies disguising the fact that the temperature was freezing cold!  I volunteered to help out with some of my book club friends to man a water station for the 2013 Huntsville Marathon - The Full Monte.  Our station was Water Station #1, about 3 miles from the start.  This location placed us near milepost 40 on UT Hwy 39 at the top of Monte Cristo area almost to the summit.  

Do not let the blinding sunshine and the smiling faces fool you  --  we were freezing our "you know whats" off.   

That's me on the lower left, wearing 6 layers and warm gloves!  It was only 26F! I am a wimp! I am definitely not ready for winter yet!  

After the house cooling down in the 50s F, we finally gave in and turned on the central heat (instead of using the fireplace to temporarily heat us up) yesterday afternoon.  Low and behold, southwest winds began to blow late yesterday and continues today as well. It was warmer last night when I went to bed than it has been for the past 5 days.  I am finally thawed out! 

Check out the marathon link to see more information, a route map and elevation profile as well as a video of the route. 

Thanks for stopping by My Mountain Green.  Welcome to Fall in the Wasatch Front!

Cool Blast!

After a summer of record-breaking heat of over

 20 days of 100+ F degrees for the Salt Lake Valley, 

Old Man Winter has decided to send a quick reminder

he is on the way soon. 

A cold front has passed through the area this morning, bringing rain and snow for the next 2 days.  While there should not be any accumulation

 at my house located 5200' in the Wasatch Front mountains,

 there is snow forecasted above 7000' elevation.  

Maybe I will be able to post a snow-dusted photo of My Mountain Green soon, 

but hopefully Mr. Fall will decide to run 

Old Man Winter out of town for another month or so.  

Thanks to all my friends for the well wishes, condolences and prayers these past few months.  Appreciate ya!  

After the Storm

Life is overwhelming at times, yet nature's beauty shows that after the thunder and lightning, one will find solitude and peace.  

While still in the dark and stormy, 

clear blue & sunny skies are on the way.

A view from the balcony of My Mountain Green.

Newest Family Member

I would like you to meet Royal (Roy), named for a Royal Flush hit by my mother-in-law, from which the "earnings" were used to acquire this little white furry thing.  He is a 2 year old Westie-Poo (West Highland Terrier/ Poodle mix).  

Sad circumstance brought Roy to us, as he was my in-laws puppy dog.  They both perished in a single vehicle automobile accident about 5 weeks ago.  If you have been wondering why I haven't posted in a while, we have been in Grove, Oklahoma, for the past month handling the estate.  

Roy is such smart little dog and traveled for 2 long days in the car with no problems as we drove back across country to Utah.  He loves to play ball, especially ones that squeak!  

Bienvenidos Roy to My Mountain Green!  You silly pup!

Mill D North Fork Trail

On Saturday, May 25, 2013, my friend, Mandy, and I went to Big Cottonwood Canyon near Salt Lake City to get a little exercise.  We had planned to hike up to Lake Catherine which is accessible through Brighton Ski Resort, but after traveling to the end of the road to the Brighton Ski Resort parking lot, our suspicions were confirmed -- too much snow still on the ground.  So we headed back downhill about 6 miles to the turn off for Donut Falls.  Donut Falls is an easy hike, very family friendly.  Being a holiday weekend, everyone along with their young children were here.  No parking was too be found and way too many people for my comfort, so we decided to head back to the main road to the Mill D trailhead.

After looking at the trail map, we started our way along Mill D North Fork Trail to Desolation Lake.  Round trip would be 7 miles, elevation starting at 7352'.

At this elevation, Spring is just beginning.  The aspens are just starting to have leaf growth.  The wildflowers are beginning to appear, not blooming yet.  One thing I learned on this hike was when I stopped to gaze at nature's beauty, I needed to turn around because something more spectacular was behind me.  However, we did not make it to the lake!  Almost, but not quite all the way.  We had to turn around about 1/2 mile short due to snow fields covering the trail making it impossible to know which way to go, especially since neither one of us had hiked in this area before.

We ended up hiking about 5.8 miles with an elevation gain of 1880 ft.,  hiking up to 9232' elevation.
To see a topo and elevation map, here's a link to the trail route on gmap-pedometer.com

Here are some photos of our outstanding hike:

Near beginning of trail.  You can see the main road.

The aspens at this elevation are leafing out.

Heading higher, aspens not leafing here.

A few spots of snow in the trail in the shaded areas.

Shortly after this section of trail, we stopped for lunch (PBJ sandwiches).

Aspen grove.

On our way back down in an aspen grove.

Stunning beauty everywhere.

Many layers of the Wasatch Mountains.


After a great day of hiking, tired muscles and weak legs were our payment for absolutely gorgeous views, fresh air and stunning nature.

I know I am looking forward to Summer hikes in My Mountain Green this year.
Come on along with me as I venture out.

Sing It, Willie!

I love Lazuli Buntings!  

I had 15 of these blue beauties at my seed feeder yesterday.  Makes me think of Willie Nelson singing "Blue Skies"    

Blue skies smiling at me

nothing but blue skies do I see

Bluebirds singing a song

Nothing like bluebirds all day long.

I never saw the sun shining so bright

never saw things going so right.

Noticing the days hurrying by

when you’re in love, oh my how they fly.

Blue days all of them gone

Nothing but blue skies from now on...

I am so happy to see that Spring is here!  While the little birds are blue, the very sight of them lifts my blues.  Hope you enjoy these little Lazuli Buntings as much as I do in My Mountain Green.  

Springtime Friday Afternoon Hike

Finally Spring has finally arrived! How do I know? Well, the FOTY (first of the year) Broad-tailed Hummingbirds are buzzing around my yard and lapping up the nectar in the feeder.  One male arrived yesterday.  The temps are in the mid to upper 60Fs and the sun is shining brightly!

Late afternoon brought on the "sleepies", so I thought to myself that I could either lie down and take a nap or go outside and enjoy this wonderful weather while it lasts!  Not a hard choice.  I decide to hike up along the ridge line trail above the house.  So off I go, walking through my yard to my neighbor's trailhead to get up the hill.  On the way, my neighbor was out working in the yard so I stop to chat a bit.  He warned me that the last 3 times he and his dogs had been up, they had run into a cow and calf moose.  So off I tread, making noise along the way and keeping my eyes out for the pair; however, no moose were seen today. 

Along the narrow trail up hill,  I stop in a clearing to look back from where I had just come.

You can see the 2nd story and the balcony of my house just at the edge of the trees. 






Also along the trail I notice the budding Hawthorne trees. 

Also Glacier Lilies... 

and Shortstyle Bluebells were blooming.

My house sits at an elevation of 5100' +/-.  The top of the ridge is around 5450'.  About half way uphill, I come upon what I call the lower ridge road.  I follow it until I get to a 3 way intersection, naturally I take the one on the right leading to the top!

About half way up to the top, again I stop to look back from where I had come.

I reach the top out of breath, of course!  The wind is at a gale, a steady 10mph wind with occasional gusts that I have to brace against.  The view is spectacular.

Looking West (Weber Canyon)

South

South East towards the city of Morgan

East

North.
The snow covered peak in the far distance is Powder Mountain Ski Resort.  You also notice the wide path here which is used by ATVs to turn around.

North East
(Snow Basin Ski Resort is along the right side of the mountain.)

I continue along the trail heading North enjoying the quiet except the crunch of my feet along the path.

The terrain here consists of crumbling shale rock, sagebrush and low standing scrub oak trees.

At the bottom of this long stretch I make a turn downhill to reconnect up with the lower ridge road again and return home.

All the while enjoying the views along the way!

Along the trail, an Old World Swallowtail dances in front of me before landing on the sagebrush.  This was the only shot I could get of him as he quickly took to flight, got caught up in a gust of wind and flew (blew) away!

I think the wind kept most of the birds away or down on the ground, but I did see a few:
American Robin
Spotted Towhee
Black-capped Chickadee
Black-billed Magpie
Tree Swallow


Thanks for taking a walk with me in My Mountain Green!

A Few Signs of Spring

As Old Man Winter still lingers on, my yard birds are ready for Spring.  After being out the country for six weeks, it has taken about a week for the birds to rediscover or return to my seed and suet feeders.  However, light snow and cold temps have not kept the birds from shedding their winter clothing.  Here are just a few examples from the photos taken this morning:

American Goldfinch sporting Summer plumage.

Cassin's Finch with his bright red crown!

Evening Grosbeaks are glowing with their new GREEN bills.

Contrasting bill colors.  (This photo taken on January 13, 2013.)

A few more days of cold weather are expected before warming up to the 60Fs this weekend.  I am looking forward to Spring in My Mountain Green.

Thanks for stopping by.  

Not My Mountain Green!

Brazilian Parque Nacional for Foz do Iguaçu

As you can see from the caption above, this photo is not in Utah!  My husband and I have just returned from a 6 week trip to South America touring parts of Brazil, Argentina and Chile. What a trip of a lifetime!  We blogged our way along to show our friends and family just a small portion of what we experienced.  Now back to stark reality of work and real life as well as exhaustion, we still have to complete our last few posts.  I invite you to take a glimpse at our adventure, check out our "Forty Days & Forty Nights in South America" travel blog.

A Beautiful Sight

Last Monday, I met my friends at Earl's Lodge at Snowbasin Ski Resort for lunch before heading out to work off those calories by snowshoeing Maples Loop.  As we basked in the sun on the dining patio in mid 30º F temperatures, the sun was providing the show.  

It is a sun halo!  Halos are the sun shining through ice crystals in the air.  I had never seen on before!  Stunning sight!

Thanks for visiting My Mountain Green!

What? It Can't Be!

It's still very much Winter in My Mountain Green.  So, much to my surprise, this is what I see out my window on this snowy and grey morning! 

Mr. Squirrel makes his "Spring" debut a little early.   "Just great!", I thought to myself. You see, squirrels are not my favorite pests animals in the yard.

Yes, they are cute, but they eat my bird feeders out of house and home.  I really don't want to take all my feeders down since Winter is still so cold.  So for now, I will take down the feeder you can see as well as another one that is easy for the "pig" to climb upon to eat his fill.  

Hopefully he will soon move on to another neighbors house! One of my friends said that it was time to get out my slingshot.  My comment..."more like my .22"!  (Hey, what else would a Texas girl say?!)

Please note: no animals were harmed in this My Mountain Green post. Yet.  ;-)

Thanks for stopping by My Mountain Green.