This is a shot from the road of two deer on their path across our field. These aren’t yearlings, they are adult mule deer. On the left side of this field, the snow comes to the top of the deer’s back.
Towards the middle of the field, the snow is still well above their belly. The deer have been working on this path all winter, and now the snow is deep it’s pretty impressive.
Here’s the same path from the other side of the field.. The three spots to the left is where a deer took three leaps through the snow. Here’s the same path closer up
The only difference between the walkways Sam makes and the paths the deer make is that they don’t use shovels.
A friend had her boys shovel the roof, and they built up a jump on the edge with a major landing site below. They were literally sledding off the roof.
They got big air
they had distinctive styles
and they all did runs
except for the youngest, who jumped.
And this guy did his handstand off the edge of the roof especially for you.
After we cleared the roof, there was another big storm. So much snow fell in town that there was no place to put it. City government shut down, and so did the schools and the airport. I mentioned before how hard it is to show the scale of deep snow, since it falls everywhere.
Here you can see that the snow is over six feet high at the side of the road, but that is moved by machine. It’s the handwork that takes so much attention.
This is the path from the house to the barn.
Remember, this is a big dog.
There is really a lot of snow here.
Gone skiing.
Bob decided that with so much snow, we needed to shovel off the roof. The thought of moving so many tons makes me feel like a delicate flower, plus I’m sure the roof is a very dangerous place for me to be. Luckily, Sam and a friend were just back from skiing, and we picked up another friend making four strong men for shovelling.
The turkeys were alarmed by the noise, and perched high in the ponderosas until everyone was down from the roof.
By the time the job was done, the boys were ready for food and another adventure.
In some ways, teenaged boys are the most useful creatures on earth. They are so active and need so many calories that they’ll shovel tons of snow for goodwill and food. When I explain which treat can be ready by the time they complete some onerous task, the job is as good as done. At the core, their motto is something like “Can Move Mountains for Food”; mine is “Will Cook”.
I don’t know if outhouse stuffing is standard festival activity but, like the belt sander races, it’s a Snowdown tradition. It is a formalized affair. First the portapotty is declared clean by the gentleman with red mittens. You can see that the team on the left has already shed their coats.
A team starts to file into the outhouse as the gentleman with the earflaps and red mittens keeps count
two, three, four
five six
seven eight nine
The chamber is declared full,
the door is shut and the crowd chants to ten.
Then the door bursts open and everyone spills out. It’s like watching a film clip run forwards and backwards.
This time around, 16 people were squished in the Affordable John. Last year, the winning team was 20 people (and yes, there is a minimum age requirement so no one assembles a team of toddlers.) You wouldn’t think it, but outhouse stuffing is another surprisingly entertaining winter activity.
During Snowdown, people not only dress up their belt sanders, they also dress up their dogs. Here are just a few of the dogs attending the canine fashion show. Some of the dogs already have winter sweaters and just need a few accessories.
I bet this old dog’s pig costume was used in a school play.
This bulldog knight likes the pig-dog. I think the bulldog costume must be an actual bulldog snowsuit with a sword and plume for Snowdown. I didn’t even know they made bulldog snowsuits.
Here’s a girl who is dressing her dog onsite. First the tutu
Then the scarf.
This good dog knows that they’re not done yet… and she’s still willing.
Now that’s a costume.
It’s not just girls who are dressing up their dogs. Here is a grown man with a really big jester.
And the best costume? It was easy to decide.
Snowdown is the annual winter festival. It ran Thursday through Sunday with events including slalom kayak races in the municipal pool and mountain bike snow slalom races at the ski area. This year the theme was Ye Olde Snowdown, with knights, ladies and jesters.
For the belt sander races, people dress up their belt sanders and race them at the local hardware store. It is a town tradition, and there are lots of entries. This belt sander is dressed up as a knight.
The belt sander on the right was dressed up by a grown-up, while the sander on the left was dressed by the kids. Note the integration of the Tonka grader with the Barbie heads. Very creative!
The crowd around the tracks is paying attention, because the sanders go really fast.
The race officials make sure the sanders are all plugged in
And they’re off!
This might look like an example of collective insanity, but these races were actually pretty entertaining. Belt sanders last a long time, and people grow fond of them. Bob’s belt sander tried to eat his leg about eight years ago; next year he might enter it as “Jaws”.
In the deep snow, turkeys have been roosting in the tree directly by the barn. There were six big turkeys perched in it yesterday morning (and I learned how to Photoshop a spotlight and lens flare). There were three turkeys on the right
one on the left
and two in the middle
Isn’t he the handsomest? See his beard swinging forward to brush his toes? These wild turkeys are supposed to be smart, and they’ve been quick to understand the rules here: they know that the dog won’t bother them and that I’ll scatter four cups of corn under the pines in the morning. I’m betting they stay smart in the summer, when the rules include keeping out of the gardens. Bob’s not so sure.
I went out to see Suzy’s little horse again. As you may recall, Thankful is a yearling who was stuck in the snow on top of a mesa without food or water. Someone from Suzy’s household had been skiing out every day with hay or water, but that little horse was still running away from humans the first time I saw her. I thought the follow-up photo would be a pile of bones.
Here is Thankful two weeks later. She comes slogging through the snow as soon as she sees us. Suzy feeds her under a ponderosa pine, where there isn’t much snow.
She likes her hay a lot. A lot.
The thing that’s so sweet about her is that she’s not only hungry, she’s lonely too, and is really happy to visit with Suzy’s big dog.
This is a horse who really wants a friend, even though they have to work through misunderstandings.
Thankful is lonely and thin, but she is no longer thirsty. Suzy lured her down to an irrigation ditch, so she has water.
This faraway glade in the mountains is like a little slice of heaven, thanks to Suzy’s deliveries of hay, but it was hell to get there. There has been a lot more snow since my last visit, and the wind had been blowing, obliterating the trail in some places. It was really heavy going. I came home, made chowder, and went to bed. The next day I’m nursing a patch of missing skin on my heel, and I’m sore. But Suzy will be out again carrying her bag of hay miles through the snow.
Thanks.
Recent Comments