SNOW BUSINESS (Tired of winter yet?)

I thought the photo at left, sent to me by a good friend from Tiffin, OH, spoke volumes about the storms raging the midwest right now. I try to follow the weather "back home" on a daily basis. From what I've seen this week, my MI and OH compatriots probably feel like the poor guy in the picture!

We've been fortunate (after the many back-to-back blasts in December). About a 10-day string of sunny, blue skies and moderate temps ended just a last weekend. We received 2-3" of fresh snow yesterday which wasn't much, but a brief windy spell kicked up some nice snow drifts in our driveway. Meghan experienced a bit of a challenge last night when she came to pick up the Smiley-Guy.

Last week, Glenn and I visited the Idaho Fish and Game and purchased our resident fishing licenses. We'd planned to do a little ice-fishing for trout on Devil's Creek Reservoir, but pea-soup style fog both days prevented it. We're thinking we might get out this coming weekend. Glenn also put his name in the hat for the second turkey draw of spring, which will be in May.

The winter recreational opportunities right outside our back door are quite phenomenal. A new friend, Dixie and I, snowshoed on Monday afternoon. It took us about 15 minutes to walk to a point where we felt "out in the middle of nowhere." Not a house or road in sight. Lots of evidence that the turkeys, pheasants and deer wander through the area as well.

Of course, we can see Pebble Creek Ski Area from our windows. I started a three-afternoon women's clinic on Tuesday. Glenn encouraged me, and I'm thankful he did. Only eight women in the clinic, four instructors. We skied for an hour and a half, then an apres ski party with cheese/crackers, Italian bread/olive oil dipping sauce, cookies and white or red wine. I at least became acquainted with a couple more women.

An unusual twist, too. The local CBS affiliate, KIDK T.V. in Pocatello sent a young woman reporter out to do a story on the clinic. Who'd she snag to interview but me?! So, I guess I made the nightly news. . .but of course, KIDK is a CBS affiliate . . . which is in a contract dispute with Dish Network, so right now we can't get that station. I did view the video online, though. I didn't look too dorky.

But in another unusual twist, I mentioned to the reporter that I'd just moved to the area . . .and so had she . . .from East China Township, MI . . . northeast of Detroit!! What an amazing coincidence!

The weather forecast for the next few days leads me to believe it will be mild and great for some outdoor activities. We're not certain yet if it will be downhill skiing, snowshoeing, ice fishing or a combination thereof. In any regard, I'm glad I'm not quite old enough yet to dislike winter!

Nothing else new out here . . . yesterday while I was snowshoeing, Glenn tried to feed Miles his supper (baby oats + peas). When I returned, peas everywhere and the comment "Miles and I laughed too hard to eat!" Apparently, they BOTH got into some kind of giggle-fest which resulted in many peas on Miles, the high chair and Grandpa and not so many in his tummy! Boys!