Spring

It may seem odd to be calling it spring when nothing is blooming or growing, and there is snow on the ground, but I consider spring to start when the snow starts melting. By the time things start blooming and growing, spring is almost over in Island Park.

We are down below three feet of snow, and it has been very warm all month. The sandhill cranes have returned. I heard their calls in the night last week. We also had our first thunderstorm two nights ago. Terrifying booms had the house dogs cowering and looking for hiding spots. It also poured down rain for a while. Last night it snowed, and the wind chills hit minus 7F today.

I am eagerly watching for signs of the trees and shrubs I planted last year. Last week, the tips of three maples made an appearance above the snow, and this week a lilac is poking through. It will still be two months before I see them leafing out.

Another sign of spring is an increase in highway traffic and a decrease in snowmobile traffic. I no longer hear the buzz-saw sound of snowmobiles late into the evening, but I wake up to the noise of cars and trucks passing steadily by on the road.

This year I am ready and eager for spring. I have had enough of being out in the cold and the wind for countless hours, and I look forward to planting more trees and watching old friends return for the summer months.

Couch Potatoes

We live in Idaho now, so we are practicing to be potatoes.

Rose, age 12, and Sparkle, age 1.

Digging Out Doghouses

I thought you might like to see what it takes to dig out the doghouses. First I make a series of jabs in the snow to try to locate the house.





Aha, I have hit something, and I uncover a bit of blue!




After digging all around it, I use a sledgehammer on the back rim to knock it loose from its icy grave.




I then try to loosen it in the hole without any further digging.

Finally, it gets pulled up on top where it can be used by the waiting dog. Thank heavens for lightweight plastic.

Buried

The view from where I sit at my computer is rapidly shrinking. Notice how the icicle on the left has joined the top of the snow.

This tree in my front yard is about eight feet tall. It grew a full foot last summer, so I don't think it will get completely buried this year.



I have been housebound, or kennelbound, since our latest snow and wind storm buried my jeep. Look at how the wind even packed the snow into the wheel well!

All this happened in just two days! As you might guess, the wind can be a major nuisance here. Things can get buried in a matter of hours even without any fresh snowfall.