Weather Report 11.30.12

First winter storm of season.
Snow level at 7,000 feet.
Heavy rain in the valley.
Deep snow on the mountains.
Every few feet of elevation
Changes texture of rain to sleet
To snowflakes small and large
Heavy-laden wet and sticky.
Black-capped chickadees at feeders.

Sheets of paper-thin snow

See how the snow/ice
Clings to and falls from metal roofs
In paper-thin sheets

Cossman Cottage

Walnut Avenue
Ketchum, Idaho

Weather Report 11.29.12

Light snow overnight.
Partly cloudy day
Calm and mild
Steady drip of melting snow
From every rooftop.

Weather Report 11.28.12

How economics affects the weather:
A clear cool winter's day
Disappointingly gloomy and sullen
Clouded over with worry
Dreading holiday expenditures
And the impending fiscal cliff
Unable to taste the sweetness in woodsmoke
Or appreciate a child's anticipation
Of a magic you no longer believe.

Weather Report 11.27.12

Pastel pre-dawn skies at 7:30am.
Breath fog rising in the chilled air.
A swiftly passing cloud of pine siskins.
Obnoxious dinosaur trucks unapologetically idle away on fossil fuels
While the occupants wonder at weird weather.

Sunset

See how the sun crests the mountain at 3:15pm this time of year in West Ketchum
Three weeks 'til solstice
And takes the warm air in its wake

Paws and Boots

Tracks of man and dog.
Sunrise Trail, Sun Valley

Weather Report 11.26.12

Frosty night beneath clear skies.
High thin clouds on a cool Monday morning.
Fewer visitors now but the mountain is open on River Run and Nordic skiing at Galena Lodge is great.
This is one of those still days
When everything seems motionless
Or in slow motion
And there's a feeling
It may stay this way forever.
Of all the days in all the seasons
It is the unseasonable we remember best.

Fallen Elm Leaves

See the fallen elm leaves on the path.

Waxing Moon

See how the moon is waxing.
Thanksgiving vacationers waning.
Baldy had powder on top
Ice in its midsection
And rocks at bottom.
Clear skies this evening

Ketchum Dogs

Leashed and left waiting outside shops downtown.

Weather Report 11.25.12

Dawn breaks over West Ketchum at 8:24.
Wet and remarkably mild,
No frost overnight.
Snow level above 7000.
Joggers and dog walkers and bicyclists on the path where Nordic skiers might have been.
Low lying clouds mingle with and partially obscure the mountains.
The air is sweet with wet pine.
Geese flying overhead.
See how the snow is illuminated through breaks in the clouds!

Dogs in Ketchum

Tied up outside Romero's on 4th
And barking ferociously at passersby.

Pumpkin Bars

Pumpkin Bars.
Seasonally appropriate
And good for you.

Weather Report 11.24.12

A calm cold dark winter night.
Perfect for sleep and snow-making.
Overcast today with snow from North Fork north.
Visiting families cluster in and around eateries.
Nutcrackers and magpies cluster at the feeders.

Weather Report 11.23.12

High overcast this morning
With a dry frost and calm.
Uncertainty lingers in the air
Like discordant rips of blues

Weather Report 11.22.12

Crisp and clear Thanksgiving Day
Ski season begins on River Run.
Magpies rule the roosts.
Visitors flock to coffee shops.
Lines now where there were no lines
Just a few days ago.
Faces searching for recognition.

Konditerai, Sun Valley

Undercover construction
On remodel of Konditerai.

Weather Report 11.21.12

Feels like early spring.
Rain and breezes from the south.
Trails too muddy for bikes or hikes.
Snow too thin and slushy to ski or shoe.
This is a day made for bowling
Or brisk walks between showers

Weather Report 11.20.12

And so it rains
On the valley floor
While the wet winds aloft
Carry a heavy load of snow
To the heights above.

Weather Report 11.19.12

First light at seven
Beneath a warming blanket of clouds.
Snow has retreated from the valley floor
But small patches of ice
Remain from yesterday's thaw
Slick enough to topple a young man
Dashing down a sidewalk.
Small birds chirping excitedly
About the snow that's coming
Later today and through Thanksgiving.

Weather Report 11.18.12

Deep soaking rain last night.
Snow at higher reaches.
Clearing now
Exposing white-capped slopes.
The sun returns triumphant
Pushing aside the gloom.

Warm Springs

Man-made snow mingles
With the fallen snow
At the edges of late autumn
And early winter.
There are magpies and nutcrackers
And intrepid skiers
Who make a long climb up
For an all-too-brief return.

Weather Report 11.17.12

Overcast again but no showers.
Cool, calm and reserved.
The change of seasons
Slow and somber and sad
Like the passing of an old friend.

Fortun Building, Ketchum

Sun Valley Road and Washington Avenue
Erected  in 2003

Weather Report 11.15.12

Bluebird skies with a light breeze.
Cold enough for breath fog
But warm in the sun.
A calmness now
Between corrections.

Outward From Here

Collected here
Are the notes and observations
Of an outrider
A scout
Whose self-appointed mission
Is to patrol his surroundings
Which happen to be an exceptionally
Unspoiled pocket of public lands
And private claims
Where the folds of history
And the currents of entropy
Have carved out
A unique place in space and time

Weather Report 11.14.12

Light snow beneath low-lying clouds
Deep enough for tracks.
Squirrel chattering in pines
Magpie squawking.
Otherwise still and quiet
A kind of sleeping
With eyes half-open.

Weather Report 11.13.12

Overcast and cool
But not as biting
And trending milder.

Les Saisons, 680 Sun Valley Road

Ketchum on the Fly
Has flown away.

Cold Hardening

Chilling breeze
Beneath increasingly heavy skies.
Thus begins our cold hardening.

Veterans Day observed

Crows in the pines
Stellar jay on the line
Quiet streets
Little traffic.
Look how the firs are flocked.

Weather Report 11.12.12

Not so cold
Beneath this light blanket of clouds
Moving slowly across heaven
With sprinkles of fairy dust

Outrider @ Cold Springs Bridge

Foot Traffic by the Big Wood River

The snow in the wood by the river
Has been worn clear by the traffic
Of deer or elk or fishermen
Or some walkers and their dogs.
More than a few have passed this way
But none are to be seen this afternoon.

Walnut Maple Scone and Coffee

@ Java

Weather Report 11.11.12

Shoe line over Board Bin
On a frosty Sunday morning
Clear and quite cold.
A few sparrow flit through the poplars
Next to the post office
As a well-bundled bicyclist rides by.
Men in hunting garb
Shuffle into the coffee shop.
Mostly men at Java early on.
Fireplace popping and crackling.

@ Visitor Center, Ketchum

Deep cold moving in from north
With dry air and clear skies.
Wood burning season now,
But what logs to burn?

"Logs to Burn! Logs to Burn!"
"Everyone needs logs to burn!"
Hear the woodman sell his wares.
What trees they come from, no one cares.

Ah! But here's a word to make you wise,
When you hear the woodman's cries.
Never heed his usual tale
That he has good logs for sale,
But read these lines and really learn
The proper kind of logs to burn:

Clark's Nutcracker

Absent the past few days
They have returned.
A fair weather bird?

Weather Report 11.10.12

Frosty morning following the front
That fell a few inches of snow
On the higher slopes
And a thin coating on the valley floor.
This snow cover won't survive
The warm November days to come
But the base of the winter snowpack
Is set in higher elevations.
Snow-making guns roaring
Up River Run.

This day is clear and cold
Calm and bright.

Weather Report 11.09.12

Yesterday's rain
Is today's light snow
Temperatures are dropping
And it feels like early winter now

Ketchum Town Square

Tree raising

Weather Update 11.08.12

A couple hours of steady rain
Leaves deep puddles
That must be carefully skirted
To avoid soaking soles.

Bus Tour, Morning Coffee

Bus ride down the valley
Followed by coffee
In a window looking out
On slick streets and traffic