It was such a pretty evening last night that we decided to take the Ranger out for a short drive down to Bucky Beaver's. Bucky wasn't ready for visitors but we did see this cow moose, right where we saw the one yesterday morning, (same one?). She was camera shy and beat a hasty retreat.

The light at this time of day was wonderful! 

Clouds, always clouds!

Patient Rick waits as I snap some quick shots.

Poor us!

Little dog, big snow bank! The road to the bottom of the property is somewhere in there but we might not see it until July!

Bella has finally decided that Destin makes a pretty good playmate and vice-versa. We watch them closely because Bella is such a big oaf, but she is surprisingly gentle with him. 

Air Destin says ready or not, here I come!

And playtime commences!

Play position!

And for a fun comparison of snow depth, here is last year's photo taken the day we arrived which is the same date as now. Compare it to the top photo!

Saturday when we drove down to get the mail we saw this strange phenomenon in the sky. Not a rainbow, not a sun dog. It's called cloud iridescence and is caused by water droplets or small ice crystals scattering the light. I have never seen this before. Here is a closer look.

It was beautiful to see but it didn't last long. I'm so glad we managed to catch it!

There are many sights to see on the way to get the mail. This old root cellar belongs to a very old homestead.

Our postal journey also crosses through Chimney Rock Ranch were there are many strange and wonderful sandstone formations scoured by the elements. One in paticular that we have named Darth Vader for reasons that are obvious. At least we think so! Those staring eyes, oh so creepy and the helmet of course!

The day was so beautiful and the clouds were stupendous. At one point there was such beauty all around me that I asked Rick to pinch me. I kid you not. I have missed the west with its sweeping vistas so much.

Tiny arches are forming in this rock.

It's not a 25-minuate chore at all to get the mail. You never know what you might see. Today on our way out to town we encountered a cow moose at the Bucky Beaver's dam. She was standing right in the middle of the road and spooked when she saw our truck. She startled us by jumping right into the deep pool in the creek formed by the dam and swimming! Of course by the time I got the camera ready she was on shore and back in the willows. 

On our way back in there were two cow elk in the same spot that we saw the moose on the way out. They quickly made a hasty retreat into the willows to safety.

What do you see when you get your mail or on the way in and out of town?

No, I'm not talking about our beautiful new puppy boy Destin.

I'm talking about the new Polaris Ranger that we plan to use as our emergency exit strategy in winter.

It is called a UTV, which I think stands for Unidentified Type of Vehicle. We plan to put tracks on it along with a snow blade for winter. We'll do that in late October or early November. This summer, it will be fun to take fishing or site seeing on local trails, etc. Should also come in handy hauling wood and for other chores around the place.

I wanted to name it Kerr-mit after Chris Kerr. But, Lynne calls it Putt-Putt after Alfred M. Putt who invented the sound it makes. Putt-Putt seems like a wimpy name for a vehicle with 62 horsepower! But, I don't think Chris has 62 hp under his belt any more either. So, we'll need to look for another name.

Here is Destin, by the way:

These are some photos from our walkabout this morning. Finallly, a beautiful clear blue sky to greet us! It's been kind of stormy weather since we arrived, can it really be two weeks ago? It sure doesn't seem like two weeks. And to think that normally we'd be heading back east right about now if this was vacation. I'm so glad to be staying this time. 

And can it really be one week already since little munchkin Destin came to live with us? 

Above is the view from one direction on top of the hill with Bull Mountain in the background. I love the walk up the sage-covered hill, it's good aerobic exercise. Plus, in the spring there are lots of tiny wildflowers, like tundra flowers. Can't wait for them to emerge. Here is the view from the other direction with the Snowy Range in the background. The cabin is back in the trees to the right.

Right now it's pasque flower time since the snow has recently left. Purple as far as the eye can see.

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