Laura

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troutbend
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Laura
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Estes Park, CO
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Hotel - Hospitality

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This Oughta Be Good

Life & Events > This is Normal
 

This is Normal

Here in Colorado, March and April are supposed to be our snowiest months. This year has been drier and warmer than usual, and the hummingbirds got here three weeks early.

It started snowing yesterday morning at 6 a.m., and it's still coming down. If it was the light, fluffy snow that falls in the cold of winter, it would be 3 feet deep, but this is wet, warm snow with occasional rain. The temperature is hovering around the freezing mark.

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I had 8 inches of snow where I measure it, and there are places where it's deeper due to drifting. Big slabs of it are sliding off the roof and piling up around the edges of the house. The thumps make it less lonely or maybe spooky depending on how I want to look at it.

Last night at midnight my generator came on, so the power had gone out. For about half an hour I debated calling it in, but finally decided I needed to. They said I was the only caller from my area, but there was another outage in town. I told them I have a generator so I'd be fine until they could get here. I unplugged a bunch of stuff that I can live without to lessen the load on the generator.

One of my internal debates was what to do about my yard light. If I left it on, or left the house lights on, the utilities guys might think my power was still on. So I shut off the big yard light via a switch here in the house and went back to bed. Around 2:30 the generator went off and they called me to make sure the power was back on.

I looked outside, and someone had walked all around the cabin next door, maybe because that's where the trucks are parked, and there was no indication that my house is occupied since the car inside the garage. They might have noticed the sound of the generator running. Before the flood the town put a sign on our main power pole that we have a generator, but when I asked them for on to put on the new pole, they didn't know what I was talking about. I'll make one of my own because I think they need to know it. This morning I tried to follow their tracks along the power line to figure out where it broke, but didn't find the spot.

This turkey came to visit yesterday. She dug down into the snow and looked like she was eating the grass. There was cornbread out there for the birds, but she didn't seem to be interested. Last week two of them were here eating berries off the bush by the dining room, and I hope the other one is okay. They are the same size as a fox, and foxes don't usually bother the adult turkeys.

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The snow is so wet, when the big utility repair truck drove on it, it packed down and was lifted up to make this ramp. When I walk on it, it packs under my feet so in a lot of places I'm not reaching the ground.

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posted on Apr 17, 2015 8:44 AM ()

Comments:

Glad it wasn't a major outage. Worst we had here was a week during Charlie. That was enough. Also, no water because it is pumped electrically. I hate flushing with pool water. Your snow photos are truly beautiful. You are one of those rare people who are okay on their own. I think I'm one of them too, psychologically anyway. I'd have trouble doing repairs on my own.
comment by tealstar on Apr 21, 2015 6:24 AM ()
I wish I could say the more I do, the more confidence I have in my ability to take on anything. Maybe it's so incremental I don't realize I have it.
reply by troutbend on Apr 21, 2015 7:18 AM ()
It would make me very nervous to find that people had walked all around my property in the night and I did not even know. I have a motion detector light in my back yard which goes on and off during the night when the critters wander around. The light wakes me up and I always look out to see what is there.
comment by boots586 on Apr 18, 2015 9:24 AM ()
I know what you mean. After every snow, I look for tracks - usually animal tracks - to see where the foxes went around in the yard. One time I found feather prints where an owl caught a mouse on top of the snow - it resembled snow angels.
reply by troutbend on Apr 18, 2015 11:24 AM ()
I check the Colorado weather every night on the news--so let's see--you have 2 days of summer every year!
comment by greatmartin on Apr 17, 2015 9:45 PM ()
It sure seems that way sometimes - our growing season between frosts is May 30 through mid-September, so most vegetables don't have time to mature; I have to select the short season varieties,and it's still a close call.

Of course, when it's fire season, with no rain in sight, the summer is too long and too hot.
reply by troutbend on Apr 18, 2015 11:34 AM ()
I'm surprised we don't have more power outages considering the terrain and remoteness. There is a lady named Mary who answers the phone, and she has the nicest, most reassuring voice. I was glad she was on the night shift.
comment by troutbend on Apr 17, 2015 3:01 PM ()
It really is beautiful, I love the B&W. But they called you to make sure the power was on? That's service! Here they turn it off to work on it without telling you. Well, they post a notice on doors, and if you don't see it, too bad. I miss the snow.
comment by drmaus on Apr 17, 2015 10:44 AM ()
Your reply is above.
reply by troutbend on Apr 17, 2015 3:02 PM ()
Wow! But it sure is beautiful....
comment by kristilyn3 on Apr 17, 2015 9:38 AM ()
Especially compared to Las Vegas.
reply by troutbend on Apr 17, 2015 3:03 PM ()

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