clockwork

This is nuts.
Two days ago, it was a blythe 75 out at Coot Lake.

If you're one of the very exclusive few who follow this blog,

you know that five weeks ago, also a Tuesday,

 nearly a foot of snow fell.

And that another foot of snow has fallen

 on every single Tuesday since.

Here we go again.

Due in late tonight, the fifth dump.

If I were an osprey,
I'd be filing a flight plan back to Rio.

perseverance

Remarkable.

Four weeks and four feet of snow this month 

have not deterred the osprey pair one bit.

Another foot fell like religion every Tuesday.

Every Wednesday, the birds wove

a new layer of sticks on top of the fresh snow.

Like religion.

Then one day, right in the midst of building their fourth taj,

you could see their moonstruck moment.

They sat like this for almost an hour,

sort of taking it all in.

She's on the left. 

They slept in the nest that night.

It got so I felt guilty for watching.

Today, they waited.

He threw some fish at her; 

she threw around some more lumber.

Because she can.

Meanwhile, I have a canvas

 testing my own perseverance.

Every once in a while, I throw something at it.

Because I can. 

 I don't know.

The longer it's on the easel,

the weirder it gets.

That used to be a whole ranch.

Now it's a nothing but a brick shithouse.

No taj there.

tree #10

Two nights ago, 

the air was crystalline,

and the full moon silvered the snow-covered trees.

Nice planet.

I think we ought to keep it.

tree #10 

tree #6

It snowed on Christmas (yay!) and got bitterly cold.

Neither fact is a reasonable excuse 

for today's tree being so late in the day,

but I'm using both.

Today didn't top 20 degrees,

the sun was brilliant,

 and the sky was as blue as could be.

tree #6

last call

Last Sunday dawned warm and golden
up at the ranch.

We grabbed our cameras

and went out into the first light.

It was spectacular.

By the end of the day,

the leaves had all blown away.

Tonight, snow will cover it all.

timing is everything

First day of Winter,

and right on time...

Two feet of it!

Seriously, folks... what's not to love?

sunny side of the street

The thunder, rain, snow and shine of the April Fool storm 

was notably peculiar. 

Our street had some of each, on one side and then the other.

Jala lives over there under the sunny elms; 

the red-budded maple is over here.

s-s-s-springtime

Here's the first hour's evidence of what eventually became 24 hours of this weird combination of concrete and glue. It weighed a ton and stuck to everything, including the electrical and phone wires. Last night, the landscape looked lunar, breaking tree limbs sounded like cannon fire, and the lights flickered like candles. This morning, a wire somewhere snapped, and we went off the grid.  It was enough to forestall breakfast, forego a warm shower and convince me I'm not a pioneer. But it's springtime, so now it's sunny and warming and over. Except for the mud.     

under the snow

Knowing that this is under the snow helps.

snowshine

It's been cloudy and snowing for four days and has been below freezing for at least that long. In all that time, the benign and beautiful snowfall hasn't accumulated any more than six fluffy inches. Right now it's mid-morning, the temps are hovering at 23 degrees and will stay there all day. I love this weather, and I walk the dog in it every day. But odds are I won't be able to talk Jala into a dogwalk later this afternoon. To her, plein air is tropical. So it's no surprise that this generous award is from her.

 

However, she says there are rules (argh, I am so not a rule person) and that the rules are: tell who gave you the award, jala jala jala(check), make their name a link on your post (check), put the award icon on your post (check), and list some artists you admire and their links. This is where it gets a little sticky. Would that mean I don't admire those I neglect to mention??? Besides, I don't know that many links, and as near as I can tell, most them, if not all, have already gotten this award and deservedly so. 

Frankly, I think anyone and everyone who can muster both regular blog posts and some art now and then, and remembers to be thankful at least once every single day deserves an award. Really. So why do I feel like I'm failing to link a chain letter? If I am, I abjectly apologize. Thanks to everyone who did follow the rules; I truly admire you all a lot.

P.S. Jala just called and allowed me to talk her into braving the elements. Just wait until she reads this.