Our house sets within a rectangle of level ground from the front yard through the backyard to the shed. Above the house are rock outcroppings and a slope up to Mr. Jim’s house. Below the house a slope leads down to a dirt road and open meadow.
The backyard is high desert. Rocks poke out at angles in every direction. The boys built a rock fort in the rock outcroppings to the left of the deck. From their vantage point they can survey the entire yard. Or maybe their thoughts are more about how many more chutes we can clear for sledding when the snow returns.
Last year Tad and I cleaned out the freestanding shed that housed the previous owner’s 400-pound hog. We tore out paneling and insulation that chipmunks had filled with birdseed and assorted trash. Anyone standing outside the shed while we worked would have thought it was on fire as clouds of dust poured out the door and window.
In the winter powdery snow comes often, but leaves just as fast. At nearly 8000 feet the bright sun greedily eats all moisture. Then we’re left with the heavy brown tree trunks of the pine trees in more brown dirt and rock.
In April the snows are heavy and wet. Each time they melt you see another new green revealed. The lichen on the rocks by the shed is St Patrick’s Day green. They are swollen and soft with melted snow; visible surprises among patches of snow.
Some snowflakes are unbelievable like super-sized fast food meals. Seeing 10% of the flakes are giants among the regular flakes plays tricks with your eyes. You can’t focus, it’s like a 3-D movie.
This year at the end of April we go downtown to eat at Beau Jo’s Pizza before Mr. Jim leaves to spend his summer in Wisconsin. Snow from the latest snow covers the parking lot and grass leading to the creek. After pizza we walk next door, buy ice cream and eat it as we watch the snow begin again. Driving home the flakes were small and plentiful; our car cocooned in white.
