Good Sunday morning to you!

I woke this am at my regular 4:30 am time….. and headed right back to bed….. It’s been a brutal week working out side in the cold temps and wind this last week. I was out there yesterday in 35 degrees and rain too……It’s 6:45 am now, and a beautiful blanket of snow has covered the mountain top on which we live…..We just don’t see much snow around Portland any more compared to the 60’s & 80’s…..I remember as a kid getting a foot or so from time to time, and the schools shutting down for a week at a time…Those were good memories of all the sledding we did…..In the 80’s, the twenty year cycle repeated itself, only there were much more ice storms, instead of large amounts of snow it seemed….I remember the winter of 84’ when Kathy and I were wintering in Anchorage Alaska….The little 3 room shack we lived in up there had 8 feet of snow up against the windward side of the structure. You couldn’t see where the ground left off, and the roof began….it looked like it was built into the side of a mountain of snow…..Up there it started snowing in early September, and we did not see bare ground again until late May / early June…..We were so missing our “Good old Oregon Rain”, you just couldn’t believe it….We had a two week trip down here for Christmas time scheduled, and we were really looking forward to 50 degrees and rain…..We left Anchorage AK in 19 degrees weather with clear skies…..Much to our surprise….When we got off the plane in Portland it was 18 degrees and the wind was blowing snow sideways!!!! Kathy and I just looked at each other and thought we must have got on the wrong plane or something…..

It was ironic……We had an ice storm, sub freezing temps, and snow on the ground constantly for the whole two weeks we were here in Portland, while Anchorage Alaska actually got above freezing….It was warmer up there than in Portland the whole time until we flew back there…..We were met the following day with a blizzard up there that dumped a couple feet of snow, the temp dropped to 20 below zero and stayed that could for two months …..we actually saw 38 below in Anchorage that winter….and I was working out side framing in that stuff too….

The last few years we have been expecting the return 20 year cycle of snow and cold weather…..but we just haven’t seen it….I’m actually enjoying seeing those huge snow flakes fall as the sun is trying to lighten the sky…..It’s beautiful looking out there!…..There is just something about a fresh snow that seams so cleansing….This morning I’m REALLY enjoying this transformation of our soggy green landscape into a white winter wonder land….This is perfect timing for a change….I’ve had a good January for income, my bills are turned in, and I’ve got a few days off to enjoy putting logs in the woodstove instead of freezing my buns off…… Let it snow!

The cows in the back pasture even figured out why I built that addition on the barn for them this time….We got a slight dusting of snow on Christmas morning here that was kind of cool….haven’t had a white Christmas in years….the stupid cows stood out there with the snow blowing looking miserable, instead of going into their new barn....Cows are not known for their intelligence though…..But they got it figured out now!

I’ll have to take some photos….

These two is looking out the French doors to the west ……

This is my office that I work in when I’m not in the field……Not exactly a bad working environment huh?

This picture below is the giant pussy willow tree that shades the back of the house in the summer and buzzes with bumble bees in spring….

Kida cool looking in the snow I’m thinking……

This photo below is from the back porch looking north with the Archer shop on the left, Mama Kats garden shed in the center,
And our sad looking pump house that is soon to get a makeover this spring….That is the only structure on the place I haven’t rebuilt. And after that other pussy willow came down and smashed it on the north side….it’s over due ….besides…its ugly looking, don’t you think?

Well….i suppose I better sign off here, and put another log on the fire…..rough life today……I’m loving it!

Kirk

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