These photos were taken TODAY, Friday, March 27th — springtime in the Colorado Rockies. Fairbanks loves it and although I’m definitely a winter girl, I was all ready to work out in the yard this weekend. So much for that.
Just so you can see how much snow fell yesterday — this is a picnic table and a couple of my summer flower pots ready for plants. I should know better. At the beginning of this week we had some 75 degree teaser days. I fell for it.
Frozen composter — and it’s a big one.
I guess I’ll put away the gardening tools and throw my skis back on my car.
In gratitude to the snow gods,
Melissa
P.S. I’ll be back to food posts Monday, starting with sweet potato pie cookies.
Melissa,
With all that snow and blue skies it must look beautiful in your area. Fairbanks is looking regal of course and probably wondering what all the fuss is about as he poses for his global fans. I can see via the magic that is the international weather forecast, that you’re about to get some gloriously sunny days …. let’s hope it’s more reliable than my local forecasts. Meantime I’ll be waiting for the sweet potato pie cookie recipe, so don’t be too long enjoying yourself on the slopes, some of us are eager to get on with the cookies
Cid
Cid,
Yes, it is beautiful with all the snow. Actually, right now it’s dark and crisp as it’s early and the sun is far from up, but it promises to be a great day. The snow will melt quickly once it warms up and this moisture will really get spring moving along.
I’ll do a couple of basic food posts over the next week, then I’ll be doing my spring cleanse (internal spring cleaning), so those posts will be a bit different. I haven’t decided yet how to proceed with that. Hmmm? Any ideas?
Take care and I’ll let Fairbanks know he has an English fan. Alaskan Malamutes are a rather aloof breed, but if you have a chunk of good cheese or some fresh fish, he’ll be very attentive.
Melissa,
The Spring cleanse sounds interesting…. they take all kinds of forms, I am eager to hear about your version. My own body has recovered well after a couple of months off cake and chocolate. You might like to know I had another toasted rice porridge brunch today… I love it but suspect I’m eating too much of it and not doing enough hiking! For me a good cleanse might include drinking a lot less black tea and a lot more herbal without milk. Beyond that I’m not sure. Certainly I can tell you I’ve had more than my fair share of stress lately but things are easing off now thankfully. Good that I’ve had the escape of both yours and Miles blogs… I am very grateful.
For now I’ll look forward to the cleanse details and trust you are enjoying that sunshine.
Cid
Tough to get excited about snow at this point. Beautiful photos but I am so ready for some sweet green.
Melissa,
Cid hit the nail on the head. Regal is precisely the word to describe Fairbanks. Such a handsome fella. And your snowfall? Wow! I think Miles has said something similar but if we had that here in the UK, public services would cease, the government would fall and as a society we would descend into a ‘Lord Of The Flies’ style of anarchy.
Incidentally I’m having a Melissa-style early wake-up call tomorrow. The clocks change for British Summertime tonight. I need to be in the office for 7am which in reality equates to 6am!! Just as well you’re not posting until Monday or I would be typing a braindead, sleep-deprived reply using just my face.
GDave
Hi Melissa,
That IS a big composter! I’m so glad you’re taking this organic gardening thing seriously! You’ll be so happy when you can eat right out of your yard.
I got a rash on my hands from loading a truckful of horse manure into my big compost bin. I’ll keep my gloves on all the time when I work with it from now on.
I was at The Tractor Store today. It’s my new favorite store! I found a hanging bag thingie for growing strawberries. It came with 10 strawberry crowns and everything I need except potting soil. It was only $6!
When that snow melts you can probably plant some early crops right in the ground. I’ve got radishes, lettuce and peas planted outside already.
I hope your Victory Garden is truly victorious!
Cid,
Interesting you bring up stress and I’m sorry you’re having to deal with so much of it lately. I was at a meeting with a local chapter of the Weston A. Price Foundation yesterday. A friend of mine did a presentation on thyroid and adrenal health. Stress was a major part of her talk. How we deal with stress is such an important part of staying healthy. I’ve been thinking about doing a post on just that — how to effectively deal with stress. So much of that has to do with our nutritional intake, especially at different times in our lives.
Well, I could launch off on that, but will save it for later. I do hope things are a bit better for you. Times are hard and life is stressful right now. We need to stick together and support each other the best we can. That’s what friends are for. Hang in there!
Meghan,
I couldn’t agree more! I’m ready for spring as well, but the snow is piled high around here and the weather report says more is on the way.
I was just thinking yesterday about starting in on spring smoothies, but I think I’ll wait until it’s a little less “wintery” out!
GDave — you crack me up. I loved the “Lord of the Flies” anarchy analogy. Yes, Miles did say something similar about how things would cease to exist under these conditions in “your neck of the woods.”
No, GDave, you’re not having a “Melissa-style early wake up” call. What you’re doing would be “sleeping in” for me. You need to get up a couple of hours earlier if you want to be in my league. Although, I will sheepishly admit to being a total drag after 8 PM at night. And by 9, I’m all but comatose. Luckily I’m not a chef. I’d have to stick entirely to the early morning shifts. Or be a baker.
Kay,
I seriously wish you were my next door neighbor. Aside from your colorful pursuits (roller derby to tractor pulls?), you have SO much good knowledge when it comes to planting. I’d be looking over your shoulder all the time!
The strawberry bag thing sounds interesting. How are your worms and chickens doing?
I love it whenever Fairbanks makes an appearance here! Yes, I imagine he likes all that snow very, very much.
We didn’t get enough snow here this winter for my liking, but I am ready for warmer temps now so we can go camping at our riverfront, mtn property.
That would be wonderful if you did a post on thyroid issues and adrenals. I used to be one who would stay up super late baking cookies for camping trip, etc. Now as a result of that and gluten, thyroid issues, etc. I have burned out adrenals. I’m starting a protocol to heal those with my new doctor.
I have some really good news to share from our county … we’re going to have our very own farmer’s market! Yippeee!! Our friends who do organic farming and have goats, etc. plan to be there all the time and want me to make gluten-free baked goods for them to sell, since we will be gone camping most weekends. (BTW, I may have mentioned they are the family who are going to be on Wife Swap. Air date is April 17. Of course, they did it to raise awareness on going green, eating gluten free, etc., so I hope it really turns out that way and not horridly as has always been the case when I watched that show for more than 2 minutes.) Anyway, I’m very keen on the farmer’s market and getting the CSA folks out in the general public’s eye!
Shirley
Thanks, Shirley. Fairbanks is also on a gluten-free diet. He eats sweet potatoes and fish (among other things).
I might do a thyroid/adrenal post as I carefully watch what’s going on with my thyroid because of celiac and a few other concerns. As for your burned out adrenal glands, that seems to be common with us these days. It’s called burning the candle at both ends! I’m interested in your doc’s protocol for boosting your adrenals. And for women — the adrenals do some much needed back-up work at a certain time of life. Yes, we definitely want to keep all those hard-working little glands of ours healthy, whether you’re a male or female.
Keep us posted about your farmer’s market. That’s awesome! Do they make goat yogurt and cheese? Or kefir? My current favorite thing is goat milk kefir. And I’m totally addicted to vanilla goat yogurt, but I have to be careful with the dairy thing. I play with it though.
That’s amazing about the wife-swap show. I hope they’re getting paid a lot for it!
Melissa,
Great shots! I’ve just finished watching the last of the BBC Yellowstone series, it is quite incredible how snow can really impact upon your wildlife as well as the human population and how that has to be dealt with. We’ve no idea in England. Looking forward to the cookies!
Miles
Miles,
Thank you. I guess I’ll have to seek out the Yellowstone series you’ve been talking about. I haven’t seen it, but yes, heavy snowfall impacts lots of systems. I haven’t been to Yellowstone in a few years, but a friend returned not too long ago and said winter is the time to go. He went on a wolf watching trip with the division of wildlife. He said it was absolutely amazing.
Fairbanks is GORGEOUS! I saw a Fairbanks look alike at the park today and he was massive at 140 lbs! How big is FB?
::crossing my fingers for some warmer weather for you::
I love that Fairbanks is GF. All cats and dogs should be.
They make goat cheese and yogurt. Both are excellent, but I love the cheese. Very light and not gamey at all. I was just reading on Kelly’s blog, spunkycoconut.com, that goat’s milk and human milk are very close. Who knew? Our friends did get a decent paycheck (well, they will once it airs), but it would not have been enough for me. And, they had to sign a contract that said they would pay ABC $5 M if they defaulted … yes, you read that right.
I’ll email you my adrenal protocol. Must go to bed now to work on that “candle” thing.
Shirley
Liz,
Fairbanks is a big boy, but not that big. Yeah, that is massive!
Thanks for the warmer weather wish, but forecasters say we have storms backed up for days.
Time to go skiing!
Shirley,
Whoa, 5 MILLION? Like anyone has 5 million sitting around right now. Interesting. I’ve never seen the show, but I’ll have to check it out when your friends are on it. Thanks for the tips!