The light coming through the shades on Ernie’s bedroom window, which faces roughly east, sure was bright this morning. I figured it was still early, and that leafless oaks and hickories no longer tempered the rising sun.
Then I looked at my watch — we’d slept late. That could mean only one thing.
We got snow.
Sure enough, when we took Scout and Dipstick out we stepped into a fresh coating of The White Stuff. Nature gave us more than a dusting, too — we had about two inches of wet, heavy snow. The dogs, especially Scout, absolutely loved it.
Curious about conditions an hour east, once I was back inside I sat down at my computer and pulled up the trailcams. It looked like The Mountain saw what we saw, maybe a little more. Four whitetails triggered Mountain One shortly after 8:30am, while a glop of snow partially blocked the lens of the camera closer to the summit.
Having those windows on The Mountain is cool. Next year we’ll be there to witness every moment.
And so winter has come to northern Arkansas. Keep in mind it was almost 80°F on Thursday, the day the driveway went in, before dropping to near 40°F yesterday with a stiff north wind. Last night the low was 24°F here in Harrison.
Deb and I are pleased to report that Ernie’s heat pumps defied factory specifications and kept us warm (if not toasty) all night long. They’d chug along for 45 minutes or so, buzz through a de-icing cycle for a few minutes and then resume. We’re used to that routine now, though seeing them run into the mid-20s was an unexpected bonus.
It saved us a day’s propane.
We have sunshine on tap today with temps well above freezing, a pattern (40s-20s) we expect to continue for the next week. Rain is predicted for late Monday and maybe a little more snow Monday night, which could affect dirt work on The Mountain. We’ll see.
It didn’t seem like quite the right day to visit The Mountain. Weather doesn’t discourage us, nor is the drive itself a hardship, but we’ve reached a point where we want to be more efficient with time and resources. We’ll travel back that way Monday.
We had stuff to do here near the bus anyway.
We dropped off mail at the Harrison post office, picked up carb cleaner at O’Reilly and a prescription at Walmart, and grabbed lunch at Ranch House.
Next week should be interesting. As I said, and weather permitting, there’s a chance more dirt will move — the spot on which our shed will stand, possibly the parking pads north and south of the house’s footprint. A second attempt to deliver building materials is scheduled for Friday, probably in the afternoon.
Most of all we’re lookin’ forward to Thursday. That’s when we’ll drive up to The Big City, pushin’ past Branson to Springfield, to catch an artist we last saw in Ohio at Squeek’s. He’s one of our favorites, and besides, it’ll do us good to get out for some music.
Life is good.
Take care of yourselves, Patriots. Stay calm. Stay sharp. Stay free.
#WiseUp #LibertyOrDeath
#LetsGoBrandon #FJB
The Mountain saw quite a difference over the span of five hours today.