Can winter start now? Please!!

Last year we had almost no snow until Dec 6th. Once it started, no one could figure out where the OFF button was.

This year, no one can remember where they left the ON button over the summer. Here is the hill behind our house. Notice the deep powdery snow?



Hell, even New Orleans is getting more snow than we are. How pitiful is that?



The weather dudes and dudettes promise that change is coming and at least the clouds seem to have the right idea. We shall see.

Getting in some turns

The skiing has been far from perfect this year, with very few runs open and almost exclusively man-made snow. Just the same, it has been nice for getting your ski legs back.

I went over to Deer Valley with Jam Covaleski (in green) and his house guest Eddie.



Eddie is a great water skier but is new to snow skiing. He made great progress as the day went on.



I remember at least some of what I learned last year, so perhaps we can make some better turns this year.

A bed mooch

For some unknown reason, Cosette tries to lay claim to the dog's bed each winter. You would think it might be to get a good warm snuggle with the dog, like the picture below. Not really though. They both want the bed to themselves and when they are both in it, it is really more of a polite turf war.

You might think the cat didn't actually have beds, mats and condos all over the house.

A legal question

I can take no credit for the pictures or the clever thoughts. I simply pass this along from a friend, Chad Lefler.









So the question:

Is this statutory rape or just a moosedemeanor?

Thanks Chad! By the way, you can read Chad's blog and watch a tiny Lefler grow up to play football for Carolina. Chad wass thinking linebacker, but watching Charlie grow, I am already up to defensive end.

Dog versus ball

Here in Park City, Jasper and I have a ritual to start the day. He gets fed and then patiently waits for Julie and I to finish our breakfast and the newspaper. Then we head up the mountain for some exercise.

The favorite toy is a big red ball on a rope. He can grab the rope and swing the ball in circles.



Sometimes he gets the ball.



Sometimes the ball gets him.



Once he tires of solo ball whirling, we proceed to the traditional fetching.



He just seems to do it faster than I can.



By 8:00 o'clock most mornings, Jasper has burned off enough calories to mellow him out for a few hours. Then he's ready to go again.

Hide-A-Moose

If you have followed this blog for any length of time, you might remember the occasional "Where's Waldog?" with Jasper hiding in some snow. Here is a much more confusing one. How the hell do you hide a six or seven foot tall moose in a patch of widely spread trees that have dropped all their leaves?

Try to find the moose in this picture.



Here is one a little closer up. Can you find him now?



Feeling good about yourself because you found the dark blob in the second shot? Good for you. Now go back and look again, because the second moose is within 20 feet of the first.

Tough to imagine that something so big can hide so well in forest so sparse.

By the way, Jasper was the first to find the moose this morning. They were in plain sight at the time, but he decided he didn't have to chase them. This is a big step after last year. Perhaps we are making progress.

Back in Park City

Well, we sure didn't get back for great skiing. After some good storms back in the beginning of November, a big high pressure system came in and camped over the southwest. This makes it warmer than normal and chases away any storms. Park City Mountain Resort only has one main run open. Deer V alley and The Canyons open this weekend, but with very little snow.

We did manage to bring a wee bit of the white stuff with us. We got about an inch the day we got back and another two this morning.



It's not much, but at this point, every little bit helps.

Bowling for dollars

After several years of crappy football teams, we finally see a bit of an up tick. NCSU started with a terrible 2 and 6 record. Then they came roaring back with four good wins in a row, making them bowl eligible.

Julie, my cousin Sara and I went to watch NC State beat the thugs from Miami. As always, we were picked to lose, but ended up winning by 10. Note the numerous layers of attire required.



Oh yeah, and like almost every football Saturday this year, it rained. Not much, but enough so that you had to dress for it.



Bowl invitations should go out after next weekend's championship games are all played.

Turkey with the family

We were able to gather all of the local family and some remote members for a nice Thanksgiving dinner. In addition to Julie and I, we had Julie's mom, my mom, my dad and his wife, my aunt and uncle and my cousin.



Chef Julie put on the meal with a lot of help from the mom's. It was wonderful! The surprise for the meal was going to pick up the 13 pound turkey and the six pound turkey breast, only to discover that they had a ten pound breast for us. That was one well endowed bird! More leftovers for all of us!



Martha (my aunt) and Joan (Julie's mom) chatting it up.



Sara (my cousin), Julie (wife, of course) and Sam (my uncle).



Not to be left out, Colleen brought the dogs for a play date with Jasper. Hard to tell the size differences from this angle, but the are very cute together. From the left: Sedona, who was recently rescued from the Chatam County shelter, Zoey, and Jasper. He's always easy to spot with his white paw and red ball.



It was great getting to have the family all together. I think this is what makes Thanksgiving special.

Bald Head in November

My mom (Emily Joyce) and Julie's mom (Joan Fernane) came into town on Friday. On Saturday morning we packed up and headed south to Bald Head Island. It's an island just down from Wilmington, NC. You take a car to Southport and then take a ferry to the island. Once you are on the island, all transportation is by golf cart.

This is the Bald Head marina. We stayed here the last night on our way boating back from Florida.



The mom's and Julie on the beach. The island has ocean on two sides, shipping channel on one and marsh on the last. Yes, it was that cold.



We saw lots of wildlife including two red foxes. The only disappointment was not seeing any alligators. They were probably starting to hibernate,



Lots of tracks in the sand. I thought these bird prints were pretty cool.



The most impressive plants on the island are the Live Oaks. They are big sprawling trees with twisting branches. "Live" is their real name, not a condition of being alive versus dead.



Then, add some spanish moss to give it more interest. Bald Head is the northern-most semi-tropical climate on the east coast.



Joan and I went up to the top of Old Baldy, a 190+ year old lighthouse. You get a great view down through the marsh.



The house we were staying in was right on the marsh. If you walked down a boardwalk you got some great scenery. I tried to capture some. The reflections on the water gave this picture an almost ethereal look.



Early morning looking down at Old Baldy (left) and the buildings at the marina (right). You can canoe or kayak through the marsh but have to be very aware of the tides. It can be like riding down a mountain on a bike and then having to pedal home.



My favorite picture of the weekend. There is almost always a good bit of wind at the beach. This makes ripples on the water which screws up the reflections. Here we have evening sun on the marsh grasses. The air was dead still and the reflections were like a mirror. Some storm clouds are just coming in from the right.



It was a great weekend. Very restful. Lots to see and do. Now we are back in Raleigh, begining to prep for Thanksgiving with lots of family.