Rusty here. The weather finally cooled off here in the mountains and you aren't going to believe what we woke up to. SNOW!
We still got in our hikes, and the snow felt so great on the paws.
It was enough to put a giant smile on my face.
The black and white team had fun, too!
Cheoah even got to do some snow slides.
Just one last thing to tell you - AUGUST FOOLS!
Rusty! Stop laughing. That's APRIL, not AUGUST!
Oh. Never mind.
We went walking Sunday morning in the field and wanted to share a picture of our tree with the June leaves. Well, and the hu-dad wanted to prove that he had actually mowed our field.
We walked to the other end of the field and took this picture, which gives you an idea of how big the tree is. Look to the left of the tree and you will see the red team walking.
Turning around, we looked over at our neighbors - Cataloochee Ski. Looks like some work going on, so we went down to investigate.
Woo - now THAT is a plumbing project! They are installing some new water lines and snow guns to further enhance their snow making abilities
So for all of you sweltering fans, we will have skiers on these slopes in five months - or sooner. THINK SNOW!
The temperatures were cool, the sky was clear, and the views were nearly endless.
Our tree is filling in with leaves and the field is greening.
And we got to go on long hikes in the woods.
Out on the trails enjoying one of the best days Mother Nature has to offer.
So why is this day only "almost" perfect? Look carefully at our neighbors at Cataloochee Ski.
That is the very last patch of snow. Sad, isn't it?
Our tree is really starting to leaf out.
And you can see how the snow is disappearing from Cataloochee Ski (despite our little snow fall we reported on Facebook earlier this week)
Down by the ski lodge, the retreat of our snowy friend is so evident.
But we love the mix of snow and spring!
Is that clear?
Apparently, this does not really mean our feline friends. CAT is the abbreviation for Cataloochee Ski and someone just applied their sticker to this sign. If you enlarge the picture, you can see that.
Woo - our "main" road is looking a little different.
Spring maintenance!
Our poor dirt roads really take a beating in the winter, particularly this road which takes all of the traffic to Cataloochee Ski. We love our neighbors at the ski resort. They take such great care to remove the snow in the winter so we can get up and down the mountain, but also because they work to restore the road in the spring. Spring is when maintenance is done on our roads to take out the “washboards” and make them smooth again for the summer.
Thanks neighbor!
Our tree is finally starting to bud out and produce leaves.
But something did not quite look right over at our neighbors - Cataloochee Ski
So we walked over to the ski area to see what was happening.
HORRORS! The snow is melting! We will miss you!
Do they teach you how to make it? Play in it? Work in it? Is there a Graduate Program?
Saturday morning was cool, but absolutely gorgeous. So we went walking and then stopped to picnic under our tree.
The snowboarders were enjoying the final open weekend of Cataloochee Ski.
We just enjoyed our shade.
We told you yesterday about the absolutely terrible weather we are having. Terrible, if you are a Siberian. Our snow is melting away. The good part is that they are re-opening our part of the Blue Ridge Parkway, so we are able to get to some of our higher elevation trails. Yesterday morning, we headed up to Waterrock Knob whose elevation tops out at 6,292 feet (1,918 meters).
A little cloudy, but the view was fantastic.
Guess what was on the trail as we got toward the top?
Snow, glorious snow!
P.S. – A very Happy Birthday to our hu-grandmom – mom to The Thundering Herd Annex, Tartok and Ruby. Have a great Birthday!
Natasha
Rusty
Kiska
Kodiak
Qannik
Cheoah
