Meanwhile, Back in Montana

I'm home again. I had kind of a crazy month in Washington State - spending lots of time helping my parents make arrangements for a major life change (choosing a retirement community to move to, which will happen in January), and driving back and forth over Snoqualmie Pass to visit Tom in Eastern Washington on weekends, meanwhile trying to fit in time to whack back blackberries, cut and split firewood, clean and make minor repairs to my little house on Whidbey Island. At the end of the month, there was a big snowstorm in the Pacific Northwest, just in time for Thanksgiving. Since they don't get much snow there, it created no end of traffic snarls and cars in ditches. Here's a picture of one from the local newspaper's website:
The same storm hit Montana on Thanksgiving day bringing huge winds and lots of drifting snow. The drifts were so big that clearing them required more than mere snowplows. Apparently, here in Park county the county road crews did not get some of the drifts cleared for a week and many of my friends in Paradise Valley were snowed in. Now they all envy my snowmobile!

Orea Creek Road, the road we use to get to Tipsue Road where we live, was apparently one of the very first to be plowed out, probably because most of it is protected from the high winds, so the drifts weren't as bad. By the time I got here on December 6, it was an easy drive on compact snow. Of course, my snowmobile was still up at the cabin since it had been clear and warm when I left, so when I arrived at Tipsue Road, I got to hike up the hill in the dark. The huffing and puffing I did hauling myself up the hill after a month at sea level was humbling. But this year there was no drama. No crashed cars or injured neighbors to rescue. No deep-freeze in the house, which was a relatively toasty 33 degrees when I got home. Everything went well - warming the house, turning on the propane, lighting the refrigerator and the heater in the bathhouse, turning on the water, etc. The snowmobile fired right up and I made a trip down to get my luggage and other things I'd brought back.

I seem to have arrived home just in time for a big thaw. The temperatures have been above freezing every day, although we have had a little more snow at night. The snow load on the roof of the cabin has been sliding off slowly. The sheets of snow hanging off the dormers are really impressive. I can't even see out my office window, since it is in the dormer and the snow/ice sheet is hanging over the whole thing, blocking the view. I'm a little worried about the huge impact when these things finally avalanche. Already a large sheet of ice slid off the main roof and tore a gutter off the front of the deck.

Christmas baking, skiing and visiting friends are my plans for the next few weeks. I love being home, snug in my hermit hole, happy to watch winter unfold.