Elegant Sky

Estes Park has had some gorgeous sunsets and sunrises lately. This elegant photo was taken by Cindy O'Hara and posted on Facebook.

Hygge on a Snowy Day

Waking up to a foot of newly fallen snow means a "hygge" day for me. My sister introduced me to this Danish concept which, roughly translated, means cozy comfort. Those Danes know how to optimize a cold snowy day into a warm cozy experience and I'm following their lead. For me it means a hot beverage (coffee, tea, or chocolate), a good book, a fire in the fireplace, and flannel apparel. I have a movie and some knitting standing by.

 

 

Old Fall River Road

Wayne and I drove up Old Fall River Road in Rocky Mountain National Park yesterday - it was a perfect day for a mountain adventure. We stopped several times to explore and take photos of the wildflowers, clouds, animals, and scenery.

This is one of several marmots we saw.

Elephantheads

Asters

Willow Park Patrol Cabin built in 1923

Willow Park Creek

Paintbrush

Larkspur

Willow Park

Meadow full of wildflowers

Feather cloud

Alpine tundra

Alpine tundra

Feathery clouds

Tundra wildflowers

Chasm Falls

 

 

Lunch break on top of the world

Longing for Spring

 

Thursday morning

The weather for the Rotary Duck Race on May 6 was brilliant and I thought winter was behind us. Mother Nature can be fickle, however, and from Wednesday night through Friday afternoon, we had more than three feet of snow. Once it started snowing, it just wouldn't quit. Today has been sunny and the snow is rapidly melting. Our power stayed on throughout the storm but several neighborhoods in the area lost their electricity. The snow was heavy and wet, bending branches of our newly leafed out aspens to the ground. Fortunately, we lost only one large branch.

 

Back deck on Thursday afternoon

 

Back deck on Friday morning

 



The hummingbirds in the area were cold and confused. I kept my two feeders filled with
sugar water and they kept sucking it up. I had to brush the snow off every half hour.

 

Here are a couple of photos taken from our local newspaper.

A local barn collapsed under the weight of the snow.

If you look closely, you can see a power line worker (dressed in green) at the
top of the pole trying to restore power while a moose ambles through the snow below.