Well, here it is another year and as I watch the heavy snow fall, I wonder what surprises this year will bring to Seven Springs Ranch. It is a Presidential election year, so the media is full of campaign rhetoric. We wonder if there will be voracious fires eating our forests here in the West as there were last year. Will we see abundant wildlife here again? Will we have to deal with many, many fallen trees?

No overseas travel for us except for a short jaunt to Hawaii with friends. A dude ranch with the grandchildren, a white water raft trip with Michigan friends, a wedding in Texas are all on the agenda, in addition to the routine maintenance of the house and yard and reconstruction of part of Sunny’s rock wall. As we travel to urban areas such as San Francisco and Houston, we are reminded how much we love it here sans the hustle and bustle, the noise, the crowds. Put the smart phones and tablets aside, listen to the wind in the trees, the birds call; walk around the paths and logging roads, watch the fish jump in the pond. Contemplate the beauty and serenity of nature. Come visit us.

After a very long, cold, snowy winter, we are having a wet, chilly spring! Ron is busy building cabinets for the kitchen remodel, and I am making things on the sewing and embroidery machine to sell. Am also taking a couple of online classes, and coming up will take a class sponsored by the Flathead Quilters Guild which I just joined.

As I sit here, it is beautiful outside – cold, but clear and the sky is resplendant. We just came back from cross-country skiing, but it looks like our days are numbered as to how long we will be able to ski, since the snow stuck to the bottoms of our skis and no glide! The deer have been checking our the tips of the tulips, so we’d better get busy putting wire up to fend them off. Three nighs ago it was minus 17.6 – but this morning it had warmed to minus 7! We are SO looking forward to spring. Ron has much chain-sawing to do, and I have yard work to do (repair work) plus we have siding to put on the workshop and a few other jobs waiting.

And the living isn’t easy! With the warmer weather and the wet spring, lawns and weeds are growing as if there were no tomorrow. Mowing, spraying, trimming and planting are bywords now. The weather ranges from warm to hot during the day and cools down as much as 40 degrees F at night from daytime temperatures. Birds abound – we love the songbirds. And we see occasional fawns with their mothers. An intermittent thunderstorm keeps us on our toes, running to close windows and turn off computers. But Ron’s arm is on the mend, and we look forward to family visitors and guest house renters. We love meeting people and sharing our little bit of paradise.

For the 4th of June, we have yet to see some prolonged spring days. All the rain and clouds have succeeded in making the grass grow (as well as the weeds in the meadows). All has turned green instead of brown after the thaw. Ron is also on the mend, but I fear it will be another four to six weeks before he can do things with the arm. The rain is better than what the poor Midwest is getting — thunderstorms and tornadoes.

We were visited by Ron’s nephew Eric and his girlfriend over Memorial Day, and in spite of cloudy weather, we all had a great time. Come again Eric! We are counting the days until grandchildren and parents visit in July, also. But we are both sad that we may not see little Casper (our other grandson) until the holidays. But who knows – life surprises us sometimes!

We went from a weekend of temperatures in the 70s to snow and daily temperatures in the 40s. It snowed 3 inches last night and is supposed to snow up to 7 inches or more tonight! WHEN is spring coming? Even the deer are tired of it, looking desperately for something to eat beneath the white.

Ron had rotator-cuff surgery Wednesday, and today is Saturday. He is doing better and we are looking forward to his being healthy and fit again so we can get on with projects! (Hah! The doctor says “Not this year.”)

Even though we are cooped up indoors, we do web-cam with the grandchildren, and it makes everything better when we see those little ones smiling and happy. And little Casper with his helmet! I do believe he loves to go for bike rides. It’s hard to believe he will be bicycling with his Poppy and Mommy one of these days. We used to go on the “down-ups” with Tatyana and Patrick in California and thoroughly enjoyed it.

In hopes of warmer weather, I have planted tomato seeds indoors and some dahlias outside!  Once I see little sprouts I will feel better.

While it is still snowing, the calendar says it is spring. We arrived home Thursday, March 27 after leaving March 14 for a six week trip to Utah and California then back. We saw some beautiful scenery in Utah and hope to return to Zion and hike the slot canyons. Ron has a recurring shoulder injury that prevented us from seeing the grandchildren (boo-hoo), but there are some great pictures on http://flickr.com/photos/sunnysewsit/collections/

Check out Spring Trip to Utah, Parts 1 and 2. We will post on Ron’s shoulder as soon as we find out more information.

It is March, and although we still have occasional snows, the birds and animals know it will soon be warm. We have even had ducks try out the pond which is finally thawing. The sky is a brilliant blue, and the stars at night are clear and crisp, allowing Ron to enjoy his new telescope. The other night he saw the Horsehead Nebula in Orion’s belt. Exciting stuff! We are looking forward to warmer weather, guests, and more fishing and boating!

It is January 16 2008. After a recent snowfall the ground is a brillant white and glistens in the light of an early morning sun. The night was very cold (-1.5 at 7:00am.) It is all very beautiful.