January?

I just can't believe it's January! The past two days have pushed us into temperatures above 60 degrees. It's been sunny, too! I had to water the lawn yesterday because we simply have not had enough moisture to keep the grass from dying over the winter months. I even managed to transplant a few mums into the portion of the yard I plan to make into a hummingbird and butterfly garden! I'd say it's the January thaw, but we really haven't been frozen.

Yes, yes, we managed to get a good snowfall last month. Yes, we spent a few days in the single digits. Yes, we thought winter had arrived. But, apparently, it hasn't. The snow melted and the temperatures rose again. I think even the plant life is confused!

I mentioned that the leaves here turned early this year, and the animals started shedding early. We thought we were in for a cold winter. The more we watched things around us, the more we believed that. It could still happen....we've got a lot of time left before spring. I also mentioned that I believed it would be a dry winter for us. So far that one has rang true. Yippee. It's good that the mountains have received a large amount of snow, though...it'll help our water situation come summer. It would just be nice to have some white stuff.

Don't worry, I'm sure I'll be over it and complaining come March. That's our snowiest month. February is generally the coldest. I'll be over it soon enough and aching to get into the high country for some serious hiking, camping, and playing. I'm already itchy for that because I have set plans to climb two 14'ers this year...including Mt. Elbert. The highest peak in Colorado at 14, 433 feet high! I can't wait! So, for now I'll enjoy this beautiful weather and wait out our strange winter.....