Thaw - February 4, 2007

The melting snow is leaving beautiful patterns around the plants.

The park was solid white after the last snowstorm, but most of the snow is melting in the warm sunshine. I really liked the clouds in this picture. This was once a landfill. The little trees are about five years old and were planted by a Boy Scout troup. My son helped plant them.

Water is running in the trough again. The water is for the horses people like to ride through the park and for the deer and elk (as well as other wildlife)

At last..... The temperature is above 50 degrees (F). It's like Springtime, especially considering the -10 degree temperatures and the windchills of -30. We have had Chinook winds, which create friction as they race down the mountainsides and produce warmers temperatures. The snow is melting. It's leaving mud and gunk all around, but that will dry off soon enough.

We took the puppies to Ecology Park to romp. The park is so named because a group of high school students wanted to reclaim the former city dump as a habitat for wildlife and people and so wrote grants and provided labor to do so. What was once an eyesore of garbage and cinders is now a thriving wildlife habitat with deer and elk, birds, squirrels, rabbits, coyotes and foxes. The park also serves as a living laboratory for high school students today. What a legacy!!