Walkin' Down The Road...

Big Bear Boulevard. 7:30 A.M.

Click on photo to enlarge - © 2009 jim otterstrom

The snow is a bit deep & slushy on the footbridges and down by the lake so we walked along the boulevard this morning, which is OK when there's no traffic, but that's rarely the case anymore. There was plenty of stinky noisy traffic today but I managed to sneak in a peaceful looking photo between groups of the speeding junk-heaps.

We were heading west here under a sky mostly open and blue, but we knew rain was on the way. A half hour later, eastbound, on the return trip, the sky had turned a dark gray and it started raining just about here. We made it home without getting too wet, as we only live about 3/4 of a mile east of this spot.

Got Snow???

~We Certainly Do~

Click on photo to enlarge - ©2008 jim otterstrom

This is how it looked on our deck this at 3:57 this afternoon.

It's still snowing, with more on the way.

Just Beautiful!!!

Let It Snow, Let It Snow, Let It Snow...

Earth Home Garden at 2:15 PM Today

Click on photo to enlarge - ©2008 jim otterstrom

Nearly 12 Inches And Still Falling
Click on photo to enlarge - ©2008 jim otterstrom

Wintry May Morning...

Ducklings All In A Row Click on photo to enlarge - © 2008 jim otterstrom

A female Mallard and her nine youngsters swim against a light snow early this morning as Peggy, Dallas, and I walked along the southern shore of Stanfield Marsh.

If you look closely at the enlarged picture you'll see blurry streaks of snow, blowing from left to right, and a few snowflakes decorating the feathers of the ducklings.

It was 30° in our yard at 7 A.M. today with light to medium snow flurries which are projected to increase through tomorrow and taper off Saturday.

We usually get a spring snow somewhere near Mother's Day so this is nothing unusual for a sunny Southern California in the spring, at 6,750 feet above sea level anyway.

A Day In The Life...

Yesterday's Sunrise

Click on photo to enlarge - © 2008 jim otterstrom

At 7:08 yesterday morning Dallas and I were walking westward along the north shore of Big Bear Lake into an icy wind as the sun rose from the east to reveal the front of a storm moving over the ridges into the valley.

I was bundled up in several layers, with two pairs of mittens on, and still had to guzzle my dandelion/licorice root/ginger/turmeric tea down so I could put my insulated mug in my backpack, thus enabling me to keep my hands warmer in my pockets.

Furry ol' Dallas was unfazed though, alternating between wading in the ice water, and curiously sniffing through the brush along the shore.

I should've worn Thinsulate gloves and a parka instead of the mittens and thermal vest, but the storm was moving in earlier than predicted so I didn't really expect it to be that cold and windy on the lake yet.

Throughout our 2+ hour walk I was on the edge of discomfort but it was such a beautiful morning I didn't want to turn around, and besides, Dallas was having a blast.

So, I just occupied my mind with other things than the bitter cold and we made it all the way over to Juniper Point and back, about 5 miles round trip, with many stops to take photos and enjoy the scenery.

When we got home Peggy scrambled up some home grown eggs, with baked garlic, onions, tomato, green chili pepper & turmeric, and we juiced up a blend of beets, carrots, kale, parsley, cucumber, apple and ginger.

Once breakfast was over we bundled up again and went outside to prune the pear tree and clean up some winter debris in the yard & gardens.

We let our hens, and Boris the banty rooster, out of the chicken yard to roam the native plant garden in search of chicken delicacies.

We then uncovered our beds of winter greens, which were getting too warm this past week or so, with the spring like daytime temps, and decided to leave them uncovered to reap the benefits of the coming snowfall.

The greens (several types of lettuce, spinach, kale & green onions), have survived the frozen winter in their covered raised beds and are certainly hardy enough to withstand a March snowstorm or two. Very cold temps may slow them down a bit but the greens will spring back with the slightest warming daytime temperatures, especially after a healthful natural drenching.

We had some cord wood that was too long for our woodstove and I had cut that down to under 18" on Friday, so I cleaned up the scrap and sawdust from that project before snow started falling in the early afternoon.

The rest of the day was spent indoors by the warmth of a fire while Peggy put together a delicious Mushroom Tofu Stroganoff for dinner (see recipe at bottom of post).

By late afternoon snow was falling heavy, but intermittently, with patches of blue sky in between. We woke up this morning to enjoy our green tea with a view of 4 1/2 inches of fresh, light, white powder.

For breakfast today it's cooked buckwheat, quinoa flakes & oats with hemp hearts, banana, raspberries, blueberries and almond soymilk.

The appetizer was another juice blend of beet, carrot, kale, apple & ginger.

MMMMMmmmmmmmm!

Today, at 8:30 A.M.

Click on photo to enlarge - © 2008 jim otterstrom

~

MUSHROOM TOFU STROGANOFF

Adapted to our own particular tastes from

The Tassajara Recipe Book

Note-

Prepare yogurt cheese* and marinate tofu** at least 24 hours before you plan to prepare the meal.


1 16-ounce block of tofu, pressed, drained, and marinated**(see marinade recipe below)
3 tablespoons avocado (or sunflower seed) oil
1 tablespoon tamari or soy sauce
1 tablespoon Bragg’s liquid amino’s (or substitute with more tamari or soy sauce)
1 large yellow onion, diced medium-small
1 pound Crimini or Shiitake mushrooms
5 cloves minced garlic
½ teaspoon paprika
¼ teaspoon ground turmeric
¼ teaspoon dried thyme (or ½ teaspoon fresh thyme, minced)
½ cup of dry sherry or red wine
1 cup of vegetable broth
1 ½ cups of yogurt cheese* (drain 32 oz. of plain yogurt through cheesecloth overnight in refrigerator)
salt & freshly ground pepper to taste.

Drain the marinated tofu (see recipe below)** on a slanted board while you gather and prepare the rest of the ingredients.

Cut the tofu into strips or cubes and bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes or so.
Remove and set aside.

Heat 2 tablespoons of avocado oil in a 12-inch sauté pan.
When the oil is hot, add the onions. Sauté them on a high heat until they begin to brown, then turn down the heat and cook the onions carefully until they begin to caramelize, stirring frequently. This will take about 15 minutes. They should be soft. While they are cooking, slice the mushrooms about ¼ inch thick, chop the garlic, and warm the vegetable broth.

Mix the garlic, paprika, and thyme into the cooked onions. Add the remaining tablespoon of avocado (or sunflower seed) oil, the tamari and the Bragg’s liquid amino’s. Add the mushrooms, sprinkle on the turmeric, and salt & pepper to taste while carefully stirring.

Once the mushrooms begin to cook, add the marinated tofu** (see below), the sherry or wine, and let bubble & simmer for 8-10 minutes.

Add the heated broth to the yogurt cheese. Once the mushrooms are sufficiently cooked, add the yogurt cheese & broth mix to the mushroom pan.

Cook until the sauce is hot (just a few minutes) and reduced to the thickness you want. Try not to boil the sauce for too long or the yogurt cheese will curdle.

Check the seasonings and serve over brown rice.



Tofu Marinade**
Also adapted to our tastes from The Tassajara Recipe Book

2 blocks of firm tofu (the stroganoff recipe only calls for one block of tufo but you can marinade the second one and save it for another meal)
½ ounce Crimini or Shiitake mushrooms
1 cup vegetable broth
2 teaspoons dried oregano
2 gloves garlic, pressed or finely grated.
½ cup avocado (or sunflower seed) oil
½ cup red wine vinegar
½ cup sherry
½ cup Bragg’s liquid aminos (or tamari soy sauce)
¼ teaspoon ground turmeric
pinch ground cloves
black pepper to taste

Drain & press the tofu to remove excess water.
Simmer the mushrooms in vegetable broth for 15 minutes
Toast the oregano in a small frying pan over a medium flame until it becomes aromatic (without burning).

Combine the remaining ingredients, including the oregano, to the simmering mushrooms.

Bring to a slow boil and simmer a couple of minutes longer.

Cut the tofu into four slabs.

Pour the hot marinade over the tofu slabs & marinate overnight in the refrigerator.

The tofu can marinate several days.

If the tofu was reasonably fresh and fairly dry when it was marinated, the marinade can be boiled, strained, and kept refrigerated for reuse.

I'm sorry I didn't get a picture of this delicious meal, which included steamed brussel's sprouts, and a green salad with avocado & tomato, but the wonderful aromas permeating the house all afternoon had me so distracted that the only thing on my mind was, is it time to eat yet?

Peggy said she'd been wanting to try out this recipe for quite some time, and as far as I'm concerned, this one is a keeper!

Two Views Of Yesterday...

Rainbow Over Lucerne Valley - Monday, 9:48 A.M

Click on photo to enlarge - © 2008 jim otterstrom

One of my obligations as a friend and neighbor is to take Cheri, who lives across the street from us, down the mountain to her monthly doctor appointments. Cheri owns a car but she's disabled and cannot drive herself.

Yesterday I drove her down to Victorville for an appointment and we were treated to this breathtaking view as we came down the Cushenbury Grade, just below the Mitsubishi Cement Plant, and descended into Lucerne Valley.

It was snowing heavily when we left Big Bear Valley and made our way slowly through a white-out of wind-blown powder as we skirted Baldwin Lake (normally dry) and then began winding our way down a very slippery Highway 18 toward the Mojave Desert.

When we came around the last bend, where the narrow pass finally opens to the desert, snow and clouds gave way to a big desert sky being cleansed by fierce winds. A fine mist blown from the clouds behind us allowed the landscape to be decorated with the magical whimsy of a rainbow, of sunlight refracted through atmospheric water.

Oh, the Blue Planet!

3 Hours Later - Back On The Deck At Home

Click on photo to enlarge - © 2008 jim otterstrom

We got between 6 and 8 inches of new snow Sunday night and Monday, but it was somewhat difficult to estimate that measurement because the wind was blowing so hard that the snow piled up in uneven drifts.

Cozy Winter Coop...

~YARDBIRDS~ Click on photo to enlarge -© 2008 jim otterstrom

Some of our hens and the recently rechristened Boris Major, a bantam Golden Lace Cochin Rooster, enjoy the chicken yard before the approaching storm hits.

This is predicted to be a major winter storm so I decided to clean out the coop yesterday, laying down fresh alfalfa litter, and refilling the nest boxes with wood chips.

I also consolidated our three stacks of firewood into two, covered them with tarps, cleaned out the raingutters and generally straightened up the yard.

HENSPECTION!Click on photo to enlarge - © 2008 jim otterstrom

One of our Black Australorp hens carefully inspects the nest boxes after I freshened them up.

Everything Seems To Be In OrderClick on photo to enlarge - © 2008 jim otterstrom

The Black Australorp is soon joined by a Light Brahma and a Barred Rock who all seem to approve of the housekeeping efforts.

Food (check), water (check), edible litter (check), comfy nests (check), perches intact (check), OK, let's go back outside while we can!

ME FIRST!!Click on photo to enlarge - © 2008 jim otterstrom

The storm was supposed to hit last night but it was still clear and relatively warm when Peggy & I took our walk at 7 this morning.

It's clouded up now though and getting quite cold so it shouldn't be long now. Let's hope we do get some substantial precipitation, whether rain, or snow.

The chickens are ready...

All In A Stormy Sunday...

Blue Sky & Snow

Click on photo to enlarge - © 2007 jim otterstrom


Dallas Watches The Sun Break Through The Clouds
Click on photo to enlarge - © 2007 jim otterstrom


But The Storm Moves In Again
Click on photo to enlarge - © 2007 jim otterstrom


Too Much Good Stuff?
Or Too Much Vacancy In The Mind???
Click on photo to enlarge - © 2007 jim otterstrom

Even Dallas appeared to be disgusted by this obnoxious new billboard in front of the ARCO station where I refilled my coffee cup during our snowy walk this morning.
Don't you just love the symbolism of the one-two punch from the bling-bling and junk-food encrusted brass knuckles?
It's even creepier than the previous ARCO billboard I posted here.


Badwater Springs
Click on photo to enlarge - © 2007 jim otterstrom

The newly renovated solar waterfall at Earth Home Garden is now known as Badwater Springs.
A few breaks in todays clouds & snowfall allowed the solar panel to kick in, spewing water from the steer-skull on the right, and, in spite of their unfortunate fates, all the permanent residents of the springs look quite cheerful.


Peggy Works On A Dress This Snowy Big Bear Evening
Click on photo to enlarge - © 2007 jim otterstrom



GOODNIGHT
Click on photo to enlarge - © 2007 jim otterstrom

Stoking the fire before turning in at the close of a fine stormy day as the light snowfall continues...

~Sweet Dreams All~

Snowfall---February 27th 9:21 A.M.

Click on photo to enlarge - © 2007 jim otterstrom

"What a difference a day makes, twenty four little hours".

From the song written by Maria Grever & Stanley Adams

A much-needed snow has been falling since we woke up at 5:30 this morning.

Big Bear's current winter, as of today, has brought less than half of the precipitation of our previous driest year on record, 2002.

We're still hoping for a couple of big 'March Miracle' storms but this one is definitely timely and appreciated.

About 3 inches has fallen here thus far but the storm seems to be dissipating now.

We had another 4 inches last week, which melted as soon as the sun came out, and we'll happily take every inch we can get.

Our daughter Jamie called from Lake Tahoe last night to tell us she had over 4 feet of fresh snow at their place, and it was still falling.

We are a mountain and snow loving family.

I posted today's wintry scene in good old-fashioned black & white for effect.

Was Our November A Canary In A Coal Mine? How Hot Might It Get In The Next Few Decades? You Tell Me...

Click on chart to enlarge - courtesy of Yahoo!/The Weather Channel

Warning!!

This IS a RANT!

...and not a very nice or funny one.

I knew we had an abnormally warm November here, I lived it, but the hair on the back of my neck stood up when I saw these Yahoo!/Weather Channel temperature charts!

If these numbers are accurate, and I'm assuming they are, we've just had one extremely freakish November.

In Big Bear City we surpassed our previous record high November temperature by 15° F.

FIFTEEN DEGREES!!!

And, not only that! We surpassed the previous November record of 74° on 22 of those 30 days, with seven days of 80°+ temps. And not one day of the month did we dip down to even the average low temp of 25°.

It was 89° on November 7th (88° on the 8th), fifty-five degrees above average, and just 5° shy of our all-time summer high of 94°.

All over town I hear people cheerfully saying, "Isn't this weather wonderful?", as they go to and from their X-Mas shopping destinations in their SUVs.
Yes folks, it's just lovely, and pretty soon you may not even have to battle the traffic that comes with living in a ski resort either.

Of course you won't have anywhere to work because Big Bear's economy is dependent upon the ski industry. So you'll have to sell your house and move someplace where there is work, but then your house won't sell because there'll be a glut of sellers and no buyers.

And, we may not need to worry about forest fires much longer either, because, with temps like these, the bark-beetles can just chew their way through the forest all year long. Who needs a forest anyway? Then we can just haul all that dead wood home to burn in the fireplace instead of letting the wildfires have it. But we may not need fireplaces to keep warm, we may need air-conditioning instead.

Ahhhhh.... Endless Summer!

So hop in those Escalades, Excursions, Navigators and Hummers folks! You know, the ones with the Jesus fish, the American flags, and the 'family values' oriented bumper stickers plastered all over ém.

Make all the trips you want to McDonalds, Starbucks, Carl's Jr., Taco Bell and Burger King . They all have drive-throughs and you don't even have to climb down out of the car to notice the weather.

Just sit there in your air-conditioning listening to Fox News, Rush Limbaugh or NASCAR results while you wolf down those mega-calories.

Even the Pharmacy has a drive through so you can refill your Prozac, Valium and Viagra prescriptions right from the driver's seat. And if you forget to have your hair cut, or your nails done, you can always make another trip. No worries! Because, thanks to oil subsidies, corporate welfare, and very creative economic policies, gasoline is back below $3 a gallon.

But the hidden costs are becoming more obvious aren't they?

Global Warming may be the most insidious, but what about that $350 billion of our hard earned money spent on the War in Iraq? Or the tens of thousands of human lives sacrificed, just so we can continue driving behemoth gas hogs around in circles all day.

Ooops! Sorry!
Do I sound a bit testy?

Perhaps I'm sick of hearing people say Global Warming is no big deal?
Or maybe I'm a little under the weather from breathing all those exhaust fumes on my walk to the grocery store yesterday morning, especially the diesel fumes?

Oh Look! I just noticed the first syllable of diesel is 'die', as in Die-Off!

I wonder what it feels like to be broiled?
Or what it's like to watch your children or grandchildren being cooked in a solar oven.

Stick around, the fun's just beginning...
...but the party's coming to an end.
Whether we believe it or not.

Pissed-Off?
Me?

Hey, it's my blog, and I can vent today if I want to!

Because our collective ignorance is infuriatingly pathetic and Peak Oil can't come soon enough for me...

...so you can consider this my exhaust, I certainly have to breathe enough of everyone else's!

Love, Peace, & Mercy Earthlings...

It’s looking to me like we're gonna need plenty of each!

The chart below shows the daily high and low temperatures for Big Bear this past November.

Enlarge it and compare them to the record highs, lows, and average from the chart above.

Click on chart to enlarge - courtesy of Yahoo!/The Weather Channel

Most of the folks who visit this blog are well-informed about Global Warming and are making big personal changes toward sustainable living. This post isn't meant for you.

It's for the masses who are either ill-informed or just don't seem to give a damn!

The people who say, "Isn't this weather wonderful?, Have a nice day, and a Merry Christmas"

They sound to me like Stepford Children.

All programmed to speak polite, meaningless, rose-colored gibberish.

Maybe I should apologize for another of my impassioned outbursts, but I'm not going to.

This is a real world we're living in, and I have a full spectrum of feelings about it, so there's little relevence in my simply posting pretty pictures every day.

Now I'd like to refer you back to some charts I posted last January which show the correlation between atmospheric CO2 levels and temperature. Click here to review the charts, especially the fourth one down which uses data from the past 160,000 years. Compare where the CO2 levels are right now with the historically corresponding temperature line.

Then you tell me. How hot do you think it might get?

The Beauty And The Ice...

Click on the photos to enlarge - © 2006 jim otterstrom

Lakeside Decembers

December tilts toward the longest night

as ice and wind transform fluid surfaces

into fancy heaps of shattered crystal

where, upon the shore

slumbering 'neath the frozen bones of summer's garden

seminal marrow lies, dreaming

in rhythms slowed by time and place

of warmth, and song

of birds and bees

and butterflies

© 2006 - jim otterstrom

This morning, Peggy, Dallas, and I, were out walking by the marsh where we were treated to this very cool (indeed) early winter ice display.

The temperatures have been up and down for several days causing the lake to freeze and thaw.

What you see in the first three pictures is the result of a thin layer of ice being windblown to the eastern shores of the marsh where it piled up and re-froze.

The bottom one was taken in a sheltered area, out of the wind.

There's snow forecast here for tonight, tomorrow morning, and next weekend too, so I'm off to clean out the raingutters again and put some things away.

addendum (a), December 13th, 2006

The above poem has been edited at least 20 times since I posted it and it's probably not finished yet.

I may just delete it.

I'm never happy with my poetry but I keep trying to write it anyway.

There's something about writing poetry that I simply don't get.

It seems to me that it's not what you put in a poem, but what you leave out, that gives it wings.

Mine usually fly like like lead balloons.

I was hoping for some comments, tips, or criticism on this one, but all eleven commentors politely avoided the poem.

addendum (b) January 1st, 2007

Crystal-

Thank you for your thoughts and observations and I have edited one more time to smooth the flow of words, and to try and clarify meaning. By the way, it's not minnows dreaming, but seminal, as in seed, and marrow, as in bone. I assume the minnows are still swimming and eating in their cold liquid depths.

;~?

Adam & Jamie - Happy Easter!

Click on photo to enlarge - photo by Jamie Otterstrom

Our 21 year-old daughter Jamie lives near the shore of Lake Tahoe with her boyfriend Adam, where every spare winter moment is spent snowboarding.

Jamie and Adam are both outdoorsy nature-lovers who also enjoy hiking and camping, and Adam is an avid fly-fisherman.

They finally got an internet hook-up and sent us an e-mail today with photos for an Easter Sunday.

This is my favorite, Adam and Jamie at Donner Pass.

If you go into the Earth Home Garden archives, back to the 21st of October, 2005 (and scroll down from there), you'll find a brief photo-essay of Jamie's life.

postscript

Now maybe they'll even comment at the blog once in awhile...
;~)

Two Days Later...

Click on photo to enlarge

This is the same view of the garden path as below, except this is how it looks about 55 hours later, on Saturday evening.

We could have a couple of more storms like that between now and June, so another nice thing about spring snow, aside from its beauty and moisture content, is that it doesn't stay around long.

The Garden Path In Spring...

Click on photo to enlarge

Yes, it is Spring!

This is what spring looks like at 6,750 feet above sea level, even in California.

And there is a path, and a garden, somewhere under that blanket of white.

I know this because I see the outline of the garden bench at the turn in the path, and the lacy limbs of the bare-naked Quaking Aspen just behind it.

To the left of the aspen is the Giant Sequoia I planted twenty-some years ago, a similar-aged Colorado Blue Spruce in the left foreground, and the much younger White Fir between them.

I also know that beneath all this rests lovely native Mariposa Lilies, Scarlet Penstemon, Indian Paintbrush, Rose Sage, Humboldt Lilies, Crimson Columbine, California Fuschia, Wild Blue Iris, Antelope Bush, Western Wallflower, Bumble-Bee Penstemon, Desert Blue Bells, Snowberry, Grape-Soda Lupine, Wright's Buckwheat, Hedgehog Cactus, Wild Onion, Green-Leaf Manzanita, Prickly Poppy, Prickly Pear Cactus, Sulfur-Colored Buckwheat, Coyote Mint, Firecracker Penstemon, Blue Flax, Mountain Phacelia, Evening Primrose, California Poppies and so many other old friends.

They're cozy now in their frozen beds, it's where they belong, how they came to be what they are, and when the snow melts they'll come out to dazzle us, and our little part of heaven, with an astounding display of fecundity.

There will be thousands of shameless plants exposing their gorgeously colorful flowering sexuality to the world, inviting bees to wallow drunkenly in their pollen, as butterflies and hummingbirds drink of their sweet nectar, and all share in fertilizing the seeds of the future within the prolific womb of mother nature.

Birds of dizzying variety and plumage will soon frolic here too, repeating once again their own rituals and celebrations, in seeking sustenance for their lives, in finding shelter, and hopefully, a safe haven in which to rear their offspring.

That all this can happen on one tiny patch of earth is evidence enough of the miracle that is life, and proof-positive for me, as to the contemptable tragedy of even a single parking lot of equal size.

What has been squandered by humans, rendered barren and lifeless, is immeasurable. What remains is precious, sensual and sacred, every last piece of it.

...and this is Sunny Southern California!

Click on photo to enlarge

So, it snowed all day and this is how it looks at 5:10 P.M. in Big Bear City on April 5th. The photo below was taken at 5:56 A.M. which will give you an idea of what our day was like. I'd say we got 1 to 1 1/2 feet today but it's a bit hard to tell because the wind was blowing it around so much.
This is the way mountain living should be, unpredictable!
I so love mountains...

Sometimes An April Day...

Click on photo to enlarge

It's snowing again today with about 5 inches piled up on the deck so far and more expected throughout the day.

Springtime In Big Bear...

Click on photo to enlarge

Rain fell lightly all Monday night, and most of yesterday, turning to snow last evening, and we woke up this morning to a couple of inches of new snow.

March Miracle!

Click on photo to enlarge

Finally, winter has arrived bringing over two feet of snow to our part of Big Bear. It started snowing Thursday and didn't let up until late last night. Some parts of our yard are under four foot drifts and the picnic table on the deck has nearly two feet piled up.

Snow On The Deck...

Click on photo to enlarge

We won't be having lunch on the deck today, but is that beautiful or what?
;~)

Beautiful, Beautiful Thunderstorm...

Click on photo to enlarge

I took this photo yesterday after a light morning rain had fallen, a rain that was just a teaser for what was to follow.

Last night we enjoyed one of the most dramatic thunderstorms I can remember, the flashing, crashing and booming continuing relentlessly until dawn.

Upstairs, in our little cabin, with the rain lashing at the roof, the wind swaying & ripping at our forest of Jeffrey Pines, and the constant thunderous trembling of earth & sky, it was almost like being in a tiny ship on a storm tossed sea (minus the seasickness).

Nobody slept much, we just laid here, all cozy like, taking in the spectacular show mother nature was providing.

Well, the humans were enjoying it anyway, Dallas was terrified and spent the whole night on the bed with me, Peggy, and our two cats, Trinity & Neo.

We received over 2 inches of rain & hail last night and the storm continues today without quite the drama, a more subdued thundering, but with lots of intermittent driving rain. My guess is that we've had another inch to inch and a half of rain this morning and the storm is supposed to continue into Wednesday.

So I'm spending the day indoors by a warm fire reading some and checking up on my blogger friends while enjoying the aura of rightness emanating from the forest around me.


addendum:

OOoooooooohhhhh! The drama has resumed, I think I'd best turn off the computer for awhile.

;~O