The Mountain Thymes

At 4:40 Wednesday morning I woke to the sound of our Generac running.  Cliff heard it kick on at 4.  We were under a winter storm warning and assumed the power outage was storm related.  When we got up at 6, I put my coffee on and Cliff drove down to the end of Boulder Creek Road to find no trees down on power lines or vehicles hugging power poles.  When we listened to our power provider's frequency, the outage included many neighboring towns and cities.  Power was out for over 5 hours.  This is the second time the generator kicked in the eight months that we've had it. It was convenient to be able to watch TWC, have our internet, and especially, have my morning coffee.  Don't mess with my morning coffee.  The only thing we couldn't do was flush because we're on a  well so Cliff drove down to the cascading creek and filled two buckets with fresh water to pour in the commodes.  Problem solved. Same day.  Rhubarb wishing for spring. Today was spring-like.  Sun

I can't believe I didn't know about yesterday's national holiday.        February 18 is celebrated across the United States as National Drink Wine Day and it's purpose is to spread the love and health benefits of wine.  Moderate wine drinkers have lower risks of liver disease, type II diabetes, certain kinds of cancers, heart attack and stroke.  It can also reduce bad cholesterol (LDL) and increase good cholesterol (HDL). It's even better if your birthday falls on this national celebration day.  Yesterday was my sister's birthday.  HAPPY BIRTHDAY, Retta!!

 The logs on the back porch are dwindling down.  We had planned to burn most of them in the next couple of weeks so when our weather does show signs of spring, we won't be carrying a full load back down the steps to the wood pile.  Then last weekend our forecast became doom and gloom with predictions of an icy mix and dangerous conditions, starting Sunday night and continuing all day Monday.  There was a chance of  trees down and  power outages.  We did the normal shopping for impending disasters by purchasing toilet paper, bread, and milk, and chocolate and wine.  Back at the ranch we filled the wheel barrow three times and carried logs up to the back porch, filling the holder again.  I went through my hearty winter soup recipes and other comfort foods preparing to be house-bound for a few days.  Each time we watched TWC or checked our weather apps, the forecast changed.  Luckily, the storm brought rain to our area and the temperature stayed above freezing.  The storm system misse

"Snow and adolescence are the only problems that disappear if you ignore them long enough."  ~ Earl Wilson Nacio brought us two inches of light snow and co-o-ld temperatures.  This past week our mornings were in the teens with daily highs not quite reaching 30 degrees.  We've found our stove fire is really worth it on these cold days.  If it's in the 40's and the sun is pouring in the big windows, the house gets too warm with a wood fire.  Next week our temperatures will slowly climb up toward 60 again.  On these cold days, cardinals, titmice, chickadees, juncos, and nuthatches jockey for position on the high-energy hanging suet cakes and seed feeders. Yesterday roads were too slippery to venture out so Cliff brought the ladder inside and I climbed up and washed the three big windows at the peak of the kitchen/dining area.  To position the ladder at the windows, I moved the shelf unit away from the wall and found a large pile of sunflower shells.  The other da