Elk in the snow

Daughter and I drove right up to these ladies, rolled the window down, and snapped our photos. Elk are fairly docile, yet, if you get too close there can be trouble. How do you know if you are too close? If they look up at you, that's too close.

AMAZING Garland of Snow

The snow got so high on this ledge it could no longer support itself and curled over. Truly a mystery as to how it stays in place:



I thought about this all afternoon, especially since I finally got out of the house and saw this phenomenon all over town. WHAT is keeping these "garlands" of snow in place? WHY doesn't the snow tumble down? And then I remembered my high school physics. My theory is that the snow is stays in place because of surface tension of water, AND because this is a special, dry snow, AND because the temperature is just right. Any other theories?

Big Snow Got BIGGER

The big snow from yesterday got much bigger. Compare this photo with the photo from yesterday's post and see for yourself:



A melancholy sun tries to break through:

First BIG Snow

Been snowing since last night and hasn't stopped. Should stop tomorrow. Here's what the porch looked like at 3 p.m:

I Bought Myself a Balloon

Daughter had a Halloween party on Saturday and as we were getting last minute items, I found Frank, right there in the grocery line. Our eyes met, and I knew I should restrain myself, but I couldn't. He was just so over the top, floating up there above all the gossip rags. Okay, so he's a rotten, two-faced guy, but I love him anyway--he's pure man. I know he's flirting with my daughter (that's her, hiding behind him). Plus, he follows me all over the kitchen while I'm cooking, like he's afraid I'm going to cheat on him. He's says that if I do, he'll go to pieces.

Hepzabah Pumpkin

It's that time of year. Biker Chick created this pumpkin. Her inspiration was the character of Hepzabah, from House of the Seven Gables, by Nathanial Hawthorne.

Land of Enchantment, Place of Doors

Spent the first weekend in October at a writer's weekend with Natalie Goldberg in Taos, New Mexico, otherwise known as the land of enchantment. It was sheer magic, everything I expected, and more. A part of the weekend was spent at the former home of Mabel Dodge Luhan, a home that has been transformed into a B&B. Mabel prided herself in the company she kept, including Willa Cather, D.H. Lawrence, Ansel Adams, Georgia O'Keefe, etc.

One extremely fascinating aspect of the house was how short and somewhat narrow all the doors are. And the doors themselves are works of art. This door is in the office of the house:


Here's the backside of the same door, which was painted by D.H. Lawrence when he visited Taos:


Below is a shot of the room where Willa Cather stayed. I was intrigued by the glorious carved door in the middle of the room, just big enough for perhaps Alice and her rabbit to fit through:

A close-up of the door:

I did open the door, as curiosity got the better of me. And behind it? Nothing but another door and insulation.

Lost Weekend

Haven't blogged in a while, which is rather obvious. But I haven't had a lot to say. So I got in my car and drove a far piece to an enchanted place called Taos to see if I could find my voice. Turns out it wasn't missing, just hiding. More later.