Local Flavor: Teasing Thaws

It's been almost a month and a half since I've last even had time for a day-in-the-life post. These two shots of Lake Champlain from up in Burlington are from weeks ago, though all that ice-chunk is still impressive. We were visiting up at ECHO (aquarium/science museum) with the kids -- there was a traveling dinosaur exhibit -- and then had fun shopping-around and finally scarfing down Indian take-out in the car as most of the dine-ins were not dine-in anymore.

I'm an open water fan and this time of year I guess I'm an open ice fan?

On a Sunday after the second-to-last dump of powdery snow, the kids and I walked-up to a favorite little evergreen stand where -- sometime in the future -- I really must get a campfire circle made. I've had ambitions to make a proper path from the rear of the shop up to here for close to a decade.

It's got a flatter area and this is the view -- up and down the valley and with a lookout over the river.

The terrain on the way up there -- like sleeping trolls under the snowpack -- is a lot easier to manage in winter, when you're not constantly snagging your legs in piles of loose stone.

Meanwhile, Rosie darling has been my hangout-buddy in the middle-of-the-night shifts of taking photos for listings. Here's a shot when she hopped-up on the stairs in crazy cat mood, trying to steal the thunder from that recent '37 D-28. Mischief!

We've also been making improvements in the house, lately -- and the above picture frame of curious old Japanese hotel labels was an addition mixed into it. I've had these hanging-up on a line from the ceiling for so long that they eventually became something that ceased to exist for the eyes. It's nice to "reframe" the focus so you can pay attention to curios. Oof!

Our smallish dining area off the living room is now slowly turning into a music room and lounge (pics later, I promise -- we're still reassembling it), and it's the first time all the downstairs instruments are now convened in one place right alongside my recording gear. Does that make me happy? Yes it does. If I can ever slow down I might actually get time to use it!

So -- now we've caught-up to the past Sunday -- a gorgeous sunny day of mild but windy-chilled weather. We managed to get outside and check-out the goings-on at the river, though. We have a mama raccoon friend whose tracks we like to follow around and they led us right down to the bank.

Now that's what I like to see -- ice removing itself into the river and sweeping away and water lapping on the shore instead of a flat pane of ice and snow out into the middle of the river.

Our kids played "driftwood fishers" for a good half-hour before territorial claims along the shore forced them into dispute. Fortunately, no one was invaded, bombed, or forced to flee over these ego trips.

The seasons constantly change the mix of wrecked vehicles down our riverbank. This rusty wreck has become almost shapeless in summer with the greenery sprouted out of it, but in winter it's clear that at one point it had some nice lines.

Here's that old plow-truck carcass...

I never noticed it had these vents in the back wall of the bed, though, until the bright white of the snow made them obvious.