Sunday, March 8, 2009

No Precip Here...

The peaks of the Front Range are sparkling under the sun this morning - there was snow above 10,000 feet yesterday. There was also snow on the eastern plains and a great deal in the northwestern mountains... but Boulder didn't get any rain, any snow... nada; zilch. I wouldn't mind if we had 4 feet of snow in 24 hours - I just want precipitation. It snowed yesterday in Nederland for the Frozen Dead Guy Days - they had 6 inches of snow fall prior to and during the cryonics parade, which was led by the Ice Queen and an Grandpa Bredo look-alike and then 10 vintage hearses from the Denver Hearse Association. Besides the coffin races, there was the Polar Plunge - through a hole cut in the ice of Barker Reservoir (one of the participants was an exchange student from Scotland) - a "pack your pants with snow" contest, and of course, all the usual music and food tents. Today things will wrap up with the Blue Ball Contest - Bo Shaffer, who delivers the dry ice for Grandpa Bredo - is the defending champion, but the says that this year, he'll let someone else win.

A herd of elk was trapped in the median strip of Interstate 70 (on the western slope, near Eagle) for several days earlier this week. The median strip is normally fenced off, but there was a break in the fence line, and the elk got in - and then couldn't get out, or get water. I-70 was closed down, sections of the fence in the median were removed, snowplows were used to line the way across the roadway to open forest, and then the elk were herded up by men on foot, horseback and ATVs. No elk was hurt and no person, animal, or piece of machinery took harm, either. It was a very satisfying conclusion. - And the Boulder County Horse Judging and Hippology teams placed first in the National Western 4-H Roundup Horse Classic Competition, which helped Colorado win the overall competition.

The kits are sitting out in the sun, in the dirt, and observing the bird feeders from afar. It's 40 degrees here at the moment, and it's expected to rise into the low 60s. We'll see what happens about the supposed snow expected on Tuesday - I'm at a point where I'll believe it when I see it. I did remember to "Spring Forward" before going to bed last night; then I read about the Battle of Blenheim, and kept waking up because I was dreaming that I was in that combat... I made it to the library yesterday, and grabbed 10 new books. While awaiting the bus, I paged through John Brown: Abolitionist and was delighted to find a photo of my brother-in-law's great-uncle, Franklin B. Sanford. I'm looking forward to reading this book!

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