Lovely Ouray, Colorado, 6 AM: Near zero out on our Christmas lighted deck. Dawn struggles against the cold grip of darkness. Snowplows rumble below, blue lights flashing, steel scraping ice... a familiar sight and sound this week.
Yawning Artisan bakers, up since four, sip coffee and alternate between incongruent nose-hair freezing bouts of shoveling drifts from storefronts and pulling racks of aromatic bread loaves from toasty ovens.
Clouds departed The Crevice overnight as Old Man Winter's tantrum raged eastward. He closed I-70 from Denver into Kansas; ground blizzards, you know... white-outs, wind, drifts... cows cowering in feedlots or frozen tundra pastures. They huddle in survival mode... backs to the gale, unmoving, blissfully unconscious of warmer times, living in the cow-now. It must have been a long night for those unfortunate enough to be on the outside. I wonder, do they draw straws?
I had had it with being cooped in house and hearth yesterday... warm as it was. So I grabbed the camera, layered up in warm, wind resistant clothes, and set out to walk our Victorian downtown. A little Christmas shopping might be good mental therapy, not to mention the visions of Mouse's Scrap Cookies, fresh out of the oven, dancing in my head. Lovely CJ, Barista Extraordinaire, presented me with a dilemma. Cookie and Coffee? Or, a pumpkin spice/eggnog milkshake. I opted for warmth.
Any of your pictures could be a beautiful Christmas Card! Tahank you for sharing them today. It is very windy, and rainy here in Oregon today.
ReplyDeleteLooks quite a bit different than it did the end of August. Thanks for renewing the memories. Merry Christmas to the two of you....
ReplyDeleteHey, where is the Texan making angels in the snow at Ouray Hot Springs?!
ReplyDeleteYour snowstorm just roared into our backyard! Even though we don't particularly appreciate the blizzard aspect, it is good to know that it can still snow here. Won't have the mountains or bighorn sheep in our winterscape, but at least it will look a little more like Christmas. Eat a scrap cookie for us and thanks for the snowy pictures!
ReplyDeleteThe pictures are lovely, but I think I like the view better in July :-). Merry Christmas!
ReplyDeleteThanks for walking the town of Ouray and giving us the feel of Christmas. I love the unusual quiet / silents of a snow packed town in winter. With no mountains to ski, I remember as a kid waiting on the corner for cars to stop then grabbing a bumper ride to the next corner stop sign. Enjoy your scrap Cookie and coffee!
ReplyDeleteJohn Q
That opening photograph of the snowy old car's front grill really affected me. By I'm not going to analyze it. I'll just keep enjoying it.
ReplyDeleteOK, now I have to analyze it. That opening photograph would be so perfect on the front cover of a collection of short stories by some famous author.
ReplyDeleteYour little winter town looks deserted with all that snow. And as much as I like the look of it only from my warm desk. Sure hope you get back out into the desert soon.
ReplyDeleteLaverne here:...Oh so many familiar places, and they do look beautiful in their winter coat. Thanks for sharing them...now I know how they look in the snow...
ReplyDeleteSitting here..Watching Springer..Looking out at the 4' of snow. It is a very pretty postcard.
ReplyDeleteDo you think you could "E" me a scrap cookie so I'll know what I'm missing?
Enjoy the holidays with your family.
Dave
Thanks for the photos of Ouray - lots of good memories there, but makes me happy to be in sunny Moab. We got only a few inches and a lot of that's gone, but it's chilly.
ReplyDeleteI spent many cold winters in my home state of Colorado, and I don't miss even one. Well, OK, maybe one, the one where we all went to Tucson for most of the winter. :)
As usual, beautiful photos. I like the snow plows - reminds me of my cousin Chris who's the head of the road dept. there. I bet he moves to warmer climes when he retires, though he has a ways to go.
PS Forgot to add that the livery barn photo reminded me of part of a summer there while in college doing a dig not too far behind that barn - a historic dig. The best part was going to the hot springs every evening after we were done. Ouray's a very special place.
ReplyDeleteErnie--- oops Mark-- Of all your thousands of readers- I probably enjoy the snowy landscape of lovely Ouray more than most! Delivering mail in the country for years in Wisc-I know snow! I always enjoy the view out of imax- and downtown- We had a wicked cold front today here in Florida- I could still wear shorts but had to wear long sleeve shirt for an hour or so this morning! Merry Christmas to you and Bobbie- looking forward to 2013
ReplyDeleteHey, why no cookie photos? As someone who has never laid lips, let alone eyes on a "scrap cookie," I feel cheated... haha!
ReplyDeleteBeautiful snowy scenes!
Perfect hiking weather here in Superstitions. Did a 9 mile loop today through the cactus. Thought of you and Bobbie. -Susan & Maikel
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