Hiking in the Hills

A Tip: Double-click on a photo to enlarge it.

On a springlike winter day, I take the dogs for a hike all over this hill. As you can see, it was a glorious day with a sky as blue as this and pleasantly cool temps.

The hill is steeper than it looks in the photo, so I walk the dogs around the side where the earth is soft and the slope gentler.

It's so quiet and we're so alone, it's an amazing feeling of peace mixed with a little fear -- black bears, mountain lions, an injury, perhaps -- who would ever know? But those feelings are soon overtaken, as they always are when we hike, of pure pleasure in the peace, quiet, and beauty of the day.

I see very little wildlife on our hikes these days. When we first moved here, the land was teeming with rabbits and we would see coyotes often and bobcats occasionally. A bear came to eat our juniper berries one night and I would always see bear tracks on our hikes and scat in my yard. And there were many, many more hawks and owls. I wonder if this is a normal cycle of life in a desert canyon. We moved here after a very rainy season and wildlife was abundant, but since then it has rained very little. I'm now keeping track of the wildlife I see in the sidebar of my blog and, so far, the count is meager compared to four years ago. 

There are many interesting rocks in this canyon with sandstone in a variety of colors predominating. On our hike, I find this rock that reminds me of a miniature Giant's Kettle. When I was a child, my interpretation of these large holes in the granite cliffs and mountains in Sweden, formed by rocks during the ice age, was of a giant stirring a soup at night in the forest, accompanied by trolls, elfs and other forest creatures from Swedish folklore. There was a Giant's Kettle in the woods close by our house and it held a great deal of fascination for me.

As I look at this rock, I think perhaps a small pebble was rotating in it to form the hole; maybe it was used by Native Americans to grind flour or spices. We have another one, not as pretty as this, sitting on our fireplace mantel. 

Here we are at the top of the hill with Princess checking out the view of our house and the road that curves and then goes straight down to the main road and our mail box in front of the hills in the background.

You can see our barn behind the junipers a bit right of center in this photo. I need to go up and work around there….much needs to be done and the weather is so perfect for working outside right now. 

After resting a while, we slip and skid (that is I do, the dogs have four legs to balance on, after all) down to the bottom of the hill and home. All in all it was a great hike and I hope you enjoyed checking it out with us.

A Snowstorm, A Snowdog, A Happy Old Swede!

The Samoyed traveled for centuries across the Russian tundra with a nomadic tribe of the same name. And Samson took to the snow immediately. Here he is experiencing his very first real snow storm.

Let's go for a walk!

Let's play!

Who said I was low maintenance?

As the sun rose from behind the eastern mountains on the day after the storm, some interesting cloud formations appeared.

There are some cattle in this photo, but you can't see them. They seemed no worse for wear after the storm.

Yesterday, it was 9 degrees outside and the INSIDE of our bathroom window was covered in a sheet of ice!! I've never seen anything like it before. How you can build a house in the mountains without double-paned windows is beyond me.

As the huge blizzard of late fall 2009 traveled East, a pack of coyotes wandered by outside my window and I was a happy old Swede, a bit cold perhaps, but happy that winter is finally here.

Look Who's Home for Thanksgiving!

Hmmm, this looks like a fun toy!

I think I'll jump in....  

and see what happens.

Muddy is what happens! Oh boy, am I in trouble now.....

It has been so much fun to have my husband and Samson up here for Thanksgiving. Here we are on your way up the hillside for a morning hike.

Walking in the hills with the dogs,

we see mountains all around, junipers, mesquite, rabbitbrush,

lichen on granite rocks that remind me of Sweden

and green sandstone rock formations

of different kinds.

At the end of our hike, we climb down a steep hillside

and follow the barbed wire fence home.

Today I'm thankful for my family: my husband, my dogs, and my little bird. For good health and a chance to be together, hike in the hills, light a fire and eat good food. I am also thankful for all my friends that are so supportive of all I do.

I hope all of you had a wonderful Thanksgiving too.