Trego's Mountain Ear

I’m accustomed to white Christmases since I was ten years old. Admittedly, I spent a few Christmases south of a projected Mason-Dixon line – but it was at 6,000 feet elevation. Most of the time, as I recall Colorado, I remember that mountains are neat, but altitude sucks. There, I lived at 6,000 feet and looked out at Fisher’s Peak (9,633 feet). Driving north, I’d see Pike’s Peak (14,115 feet). Here, I live at about 3,200 feet and look at Mount Marston (7,340 feet). Life is good – lower elevations, like Libby and Troy have the flooding. My challenge is that nature leaves me firewood and logs to cut and move.

This year, with wet soils and high winds, we’ve had a lot of blowdown – which will give me plenty to do next spring and summer. The Douglas fir has generally pushed over at the roots, while the Ponderosa pine have tended to snap 20 or 30 feet in the air. The larch, with their needles dropped for the winter, generally stand undisturbed. The leave tree selection will be larch first, P. pine second, D. Fir third. I think the spruce are pretty much gone, but I will try to save the one remaining aspen.

This Christmas is above freezing, despite NOAA’s projection of cooler than normal. I see a couple of goats down at the old Ranger station – when I stopped to complete my doubletake, they approached the car – I think the message they were trying to convey was “We’re a pair of really nice, really cute goats, and we’re feeling abandoned.” Empty handed, they left me my space – but I think they would have followed me home if I had a bucket and some oats. I note that someone has rescued one of the pair – hopefully they’ll get the other soon. A single goat is a lonely goat.

On the 23rd, there was a two vehicle wreck, with injuries up above us on Fortine Creek Road. Like Highway 93, we have a lot more traffic now than years back, and it’s the same road as it was in 1967.

Anyway, Merry Christmas, and a Happy Easter Bunny to all.