Silverton's a Winter Wonderland!

Welcome to Colorado's Winter Wonderland! We've been having snowfall for several days and expect more through tomorrow. The routine in a series of close-together storms like this is to go out each day and shovel everything out, which makes it possible to continue to do things like getting the mail and go out for coffee rather than to be totally snowed into your house. What you are about to see is the accumulation from last night, when it snowed absolutely straight down and as abundantly as I believe I have ever seen! Absolutely gorgeous! So, after crawling over the three to four feet of snow in front of my door this morning to get to the street, which the city had plowed, this was the view of my house. (Notice the snow half-way up the second story window in the front! Always makes a good story if you forget to mention the snow is piled on the porch roof!)

First order of business? Shovel the path to the plowed street! Done!

Next---stick two bottles of wine in the snowbank along the edge of the front porch to chill (if one is having a dinner party!) Chardonnay is never as crisp and lovely as when removed from a snowbank just before opening!

Now, for the real challenge. Dig the car out of the night's accumulation! Here is my Durango, with the back end dug out, ready to be backed out of its parking spot (four-wheel drive engaged, of course!). I was shoveling away (a berm the city left me which you cannot really see but which was about twelve feet wide and four feet deep, right behind the vehicle) when a nice young man came along and offered to help. He is from Houston/Holland and was waiting for the road to Silverton Mountain (the local extreme ski area) to open. He shoveled away about 2/3 of the berm when he let me convince him I could finish.

You need to know that a few grey curls sticking out from under a ski hat accomplish amazing things! For all of my young friends who read this, do stop and help those grey-haired ladies. We really, really appreciate it!

Here is the car after removing it from its parking spot. The city crew will come along and sort of "tidy up" the entrance to my parking spot or maybe even scoop the entire thing out now that I have moved the car to the plowed side of the street. This may not make sense to anyone but Travis and Suzanne......

And finally, the view out the sunroom windows. Note the snow piled up past the sills. Yes, it really is that deep. As I said, it snowed straight down and just piled up---no wind with this storm. The woodshed door is completely covered and the backyard is level deep that high!

The rhubarb should be happy with all the moisture when spring comes!

So, regretting that you are not here to enjoy all this beauty with me (and help shovel!), I shall

close. It is snowing again so I must go see if the car can move back into its snowy "garage."

See you in the spring if not before!!! I should have also explained that periodically while I was shoveling a large army howizter would go off as the highway department "shot" avalanches along the state highway immediately outside of town. Something about the clouds today made the explosions sound as if they were next door or just across the street. Boom! Crack! Bang! The report is that our avalanche danger is very high. All the state highways in the area are closed until further notice.

P.S. One has to love small towns---not only do visiting skiers help strangers shovel, but the city snowplow crew came along and bull-dozed me a huge parking space! It can snow and snow and I'll still have space to put snow as I shovel.
Cinnamon rolls are in order for the street crew---I'll deliver them to their shop on Monday morning!