There's Snow Much Difference

The past few winters almost killed me. This is strange for someone who used to name winter as her favorite season. I thought much of this was because of my living situation. Chicago winters are, let's say, brutal. That may be a little kind.
This morning in Drake, I awoke to snow covering the valley. My breath escaped me, and the first thing I thought to do was rekindle an old tradition of mine, one I hadn't done in the last few winters. I ran out into the yard, barefoot, with the dogs and wrestled with them in the fresh powdery snow. After a few minutes, we bolted back inside to the warmth of the stove and coffee that escaped my attention over the last few days. As my feet and toes regained feeling, I thought about how much I missed winter, this kind of winter, not the dingy horrible mess Chicago calls a winter.
I believe one of the main reasons Chicago's winters are so terrible is that the majority of people don't find ways to enjoy it. This attitude passes along like a bad flu virus. It infects everyone around until by the end of winter, Chicagoans are ready to kill. Couple that with the traffic messes, the long waits for CTA, and the lack of space for snow, and it's no wonder most people in Chicago hate winter.
Now, I haven't been here long, but it seems to me folks here in Colorado are anxious for winter's coming. I hear people excited about skiing and snowboarding, snow-shoeing and sledding. I smile as I drive by people working on their snow machines. I imagine the blustery thoughts running through their heads.
All these images remind me that winter is fun, and indeed my favorite season of all. I'm glad to be home.

We Got Wood!

Fall has arrived with winter right around the corner! Finding wood around the Fort Collins area is difficult this time of year it seems. I found lots of free wood in Craigslist, but it was usually snapped up by the time I arrived. Last Friday, I found a post in CL touting all the wood you can handle... The only problem is that it resides in Grand Lake, an eight hour round trip if you don't drive through Rocky Mountain National Park, or an hour and a half drive if you do. Slap onto that a $20 fee to pass through the park and I was a little perturbed.
I decided driving through the park would be better, and since it was a beautiful day, that's what I did. RMNP is beautiful, but that is not what I'm writing about, so I'll spare the details.
I arrived at Alberta's 80 acre farm, located between Granby and Grand Lake. Grand County, where Alberta's farm is found, has a major bark beetle infestation problem (notice the dead trees behind the cows in the photo). This infestation resulted in the need to thin out much of the pine trees on Alberta's farm.
When I arrived, I was directed to a pasture that had at least 15 piles of slashed wood and branches. I was told to take whatever I wanted and come back for more if I wanted to. I pulled my Explorer into the pasture and found myself surrounded by cows. I was told they wouldn't bother me... could have fooled me.
The cows deemed themselves protectors of the wood piles. Every pile I drove to, the cows followed me. Now, they may just have been interested in my activities, but it's a little unnerving looking up from a pile of wood to find a 900 lb. beast staring at you. Pretty soon, 11 or 12 cows, of varying sizes and colors, surrounded me. I threw what wood I had in my arm into the truck and jumped in the driver seat. I thought to myself "This would be a fitting end to a former butcher, trampled by cows." I could see the headlines already.
I scavenged on, drove to the opposite side of the pasture to another pile, and managed to gather a full truck load before the cows sauntered over to my new position. Imagine that hey? An Illinois girl a tish bit afraid of cows???