The Year a Difference Makes

This isn’t like last year

Or the one before

But still it’s much the same

With frigid nights

Giving way to clear and cold and dry days.

The snows will come

But not when you call them.

2012

2013

Blue-capped Chillaxing Betty

10-Day Forecast

Wake to the pre-dawn chill

See the stars and crescent moon

Through the fog of your breath.

The sun will rise 

Turning the sky bluebird blue

And warm these lanes

Between patches of worried snow.

Come evening look for high clouds

And a chance of flurries

To leave an angry inch of powder.

Weather Report for Christmas Day

Icy cold and sunny

As usual for this place

At this time.

Sunrise at Sun Valley Circle

Sun breaks over Elkhorn
As ski bus arrives
At Sun Valley Circle

Belgian Waffle

Belgian Waffle with Blueberries at The Kneadery, Ketchum

Fog Settling In

See the fog settling into the valley

Just after sunset this Solstice Day,

A chilling dampness in the air

After cold and clear and dry all day.

Nativity at Our Lady of the Snows

See the nativity scene

Out front of Our Lady of the Snows

Snowcover Day 15

An inch of snow last night

Helps preserve a meager snowcover.

The Weather Outside on December 17, 2013

Light snowcover lingers
Another week with no replenishment
Supported by evening’s chill
And the shortest of daylight days.
Morning rises brightly
With a promise of mild temperatures
And calm skies.

Snowcover Day 5

Fifth day of snowcover 

On the valley floor

A week earlier than last year

When it held on for 100 days.

Little snowfall so far

But plenty cold enough

To preserve this pack.

Snow Plumes on Dollar

See the plumes of snow

Rising from vents of snowmakers

On Dollar Mountain

Sunrise on Baldy

Sunrise on Baldy

Through the windows at Veloccio

On a frigid (-6F) Monday.

The Weather Outside on December 5, 2013

The weather outside is frigid

Near zero and calm

Like the inside of a freezer.

Weather Report: December 3,2013

Cold and mostly clear

In the wake of first winter storm

That dropped a couple inches of snow

In the mountains

Ice in the valley.

Stiff breezes last night.

Calm today.

Opening Day

See the Opening Day of ski season at River Run.

Black-capped Chickadee

Back-capped Chickadee at the feeder

Weather Report: November 26, 2013

This is how it is

More often than not

In recent decades

This time of year

In these parts:

Cold nights and mild days

And very little snow.

Neither prayer or public opinion

Or subsidized air service

Will change this course.

Vegetablarian

Slice of Vegetablarian and a mug of Mutton Buster brown ale at Wise Guys Pizza in Ketchum

Breakfast Burrito

Breakfast Burrito @ Bigwood Bread Cafe. Ham, egg, cheese. Salsa.

Sunrise on Baldy

Mallards fly upstream

Under heavy-laden skies

Promising rain this day

In mid-November

As the rising sun reflects

On the snow-capped mountaintop.

Baldy from Velocio

Bald Mountain from Velocio

The Weather Outside on November 17, 2013

The weather outside
Is clear and calm and cool
Above the clouds and fog
At lower elevations.

Beaver Moon

See the waxing Beaver Moon

That rises as beavers prepare for winter

Before the ponds freeze

As trappers set their winter baits

To capture their furs.

You may call it the Hunter's Moon, the Frosty Moon, or Snow Moon...

The Weather Outside on November 16, 2013

The weather outside is wintry

With soft flakes falling

From grey skies that blanket 

Valley and mountainsides.

It is a morning for boots and mittens

Fat-tired bikes and furry paws.

Mountain Cottontail

Tracks of the Sylvilagus nuttallii

The Weather Outside...

... is brisk and clear

With winds that scrape the peaks

Of mountains and scour the drifts 

Of man-made winter 

In advance of a snows

Forecast for midnight and beyond.

Der Fleischfresser Omelet

Der Fleischfresser Omelet at Konditerai.

Bacon, ham, sausage with Swiss gruyere cheese and rosti potato hash browns.

Snow Guns at River Run

See the blizzard blow
Beneath clear blue skies.

Snow Markers

See the snow markers

Sprouting at the edges of pavement

In neighborhoods all over town

Forecasting the coming of snowplows.

Littlest Library

Little Free Library.
Take a book; return a book.

Magpie

“I have a magpie mind.

I love anything that glitters."

The Weather Outside...

... Is delightful.

Abundant sunshine

With a light breeze from southwest 

And some high thin clouds.

Mittens in the early morning

Light jacket or sweater after noon.

Bicyclists and dog walkers

Fill the paths and lanes.

Breakfast Sandwich

Breakfast Sandwich @ Bigwood Bread Cafe

Egg, cheddar cheese and ham on asiago cheese bagel.

The Weather Outside on November 10, 2013

The weather outside is splendidly
Mild and calm and clear
For a November Day in the mountains
Looking north to Griffin Butte.

Levitation

See how the ice on a frozen puddle

Gathers above

Leaving a hollow space

Between itself and earth.

The Weather Outside on November 7

The weather outside is steady rain
After a morning snowfall
That washed away down low
But clings to the upper slopes
Going into evening.

Bald Mountain on October 29, 2013

See how the mist skirts the slopes following last night's rain and snow.

The Weather Outside

... is cool and calm beneath thinning clouds following an overnight frosting of slushy wet snow

Weather Report for October 2

Cloudy skies over moist terrain

After several rain showers.

Cool but not cold

Still but not stagnant.

Rose Hips

Wild Rosé in early autumn

Rose Hips

Wild Roses in autumn.

Reassessment

The end of September 

Comes briskly

Bringing an end to summer's ambitions

Which wilted in the heat

And succumbed to wildfires.

October by consequence

Must be a time of change and recovery

Rather than a period of harvest and reflection

As it's been in the past.

This will be a month of migrations

From the old and familiar

But sadly worn and losing interest

To the freshly different and more intriguing

Away from the burned out and unsupported 

To the new starts attentively nurtured.

Monday's Rainbow

See the rainbow

On this misty Monday morning

Arching over Ketchum

Where it arches southwest to northeast

Opposite the rising sun

Moving away as you approach

Like a waking dream

That won't let you return.

The Weather Outside

... is wet, but the skies are lightly cloudy and the temperature mild.

Possible Tomorrows

On this hike up White Clouds Trail

It's like I'm not here

Despite the beauty

The first day of autumn

The breeze in the trees

With the fading light 

And pastel sky.

My mind is elsewhere

Though I sit looking out from

Hilltop bench

I see the possible tomorrows

And not the absolute present.

Moonrise and Cloudbank

See how the waxing moon

Rises into the evening sky

And the bank of clouds to the south

Captures the color of the setting sun.

Weather Report 9.03.13

This morning the season turned

With steady rain and cooler air

The smoke replaced by mist

Dust turned to mud.

Gone Fishing

This is what my grandfathers

Loved about fishing

Bait fishing from a lakeshore.

It wasn't the catch.

It was watching the water go calm

Listening to it lap at the shore

Hearing the birds

The far-off voices

Feeling the night encroach

And life ebb away

Peacefully.