Winter finally drops some snow

It looks as if we are going to have a white Christmas after all. Though Colorado has received a ton of snow this winter it has all fallen on the western side of the Continental Divide- where the ski resorts are. Until today, it has been brown in the foothills of the Front Range.

A deer family came through this morning - two bucks, 4 does and 3 fawns. While the deer were in the yard, two coyotes came trotting by. I thought the deer would run but instead the does started chasing the coyotes who took off up the mountain.

A few winters back when snow was deep and had drifted into three and four foot high banks, it was a different story - the deer were afraid of the coyotes and ran to escape them. That same winter of deep snow, elk were so hungry that I carried a whip to chase 3 bulls with giant antlers away when I fed hay to the horses. A farm in a nearby town had a horse gored by a hungry bull elk who stole his hay.

Most winters, elk aren’t a problem because the snow usually melts in a day or two so they can find enough to eat but winters of deep snow that freezes into place for days at a time makes a problem for all wildlife- elk, deer, coyotes and song birds.

I stopped feeding wild birds this year because it attracted too many rodents. I like the chipmunks and squirrels but then pack rats discovered the free handout. It didn’t take long for a pack rat family to move into the garage where they made intricate nests decorated with my silver spoon collection and Christmas ornaments. I had to admire their industrious nature and decorating abilities and probably would have let them stay in the garage (which instead of housing a vehicle stores horse feed) but they pooped and chewed on everything. So I live-trapped the entire pack rat family of 4 and relocated them to a rocky paradise several miles away.

Christmas Day, I’m volunteering at a local restaurant/pub that is providing a free community feast. I’ve been very social the last week so I’m over my holiday blues.

Holiday Blues

Dec.  2010
My mother-in-law, who was also my good friend recently died. Hard to feel merry when sadness resides in my heart so I decided not to send Christmas cards this year.
Still, a friend who came to dinner helped me decorate a tree with ornaments of dogs, cats, horses and other critters.
Yes, I use a live tree. A life time ago I planted 20,000 tree seedlings in northern Minnesota with the goal of having a Christmas tree farm. However, my first husband and I got divorced before the trees grew a foot tall.

Twenty-five years later when I returned to visit the property I was overjoyed to see the seedlings had grown into a thick forest. I don’t feel guilty burning wood in my fireplace or having a real Christmas tree. Besides, most Christmas trees are a crop grown to be harvested.

Getting back to Christmas- since my second husband died, I can’t wait until the holidays are over. When Brian was alive I loved jingle bells, holiday trips, Santa, brandied eggnogs and receiving wonderful gifts such as a loon carved out of cherry, relief carving of a fox and an alabaster raccoon - all made by my sculptor husband.
After Brian died, Christmas lost its sparkle. Raised in a sect that didn‘t believe in Christmas, I didn’t start celebrating the holiday until after leaving the religion so I have a lot of practice pretending Christmas doesn’t matter.
I no longer love jingle bells, holiday trips or Santa but I still enjoy brandied eggnogs.