Weather Happens, Whether You Want It To Or Not...

Mary Honrud / For the Courier

What a difference a week or so makes, huh? We've gone from bitter cold with frigid winds, to ice fog and freezing rain, to balmy spring temps in a short amount of time. And don't we enjoy northeastern Montana through all of it?

But we've had enough with the icy fogs and freezing rains, don't you agree? Mother Nature could get her act together at any time. There was enough weight on the trees after that rain last Saturday night and most of the day Sunday that I know what I'll be doing come spring - picking up downed tree limbs. I might get a start on that this week as the snow melts away. I'm feeling lucky we didn't lose huge limbs, and that none of the branches that broke and fell caused any damage.

I also feel glad that we didn't lose power, although there were a few flickers up here. I had to reset the clock on the stove twice. And my coffee maker (I use it for hot water for my morning tea) had to be turned back on a couple mornings. There was just a slight delay in getting my tea as it had to reheat the water in the reservoir. Third world problems, huh?

But, oh, isn't the frost pretty when the sun comes back out? Sunshine was extra nice after several gloomy, grey days. I went out to take photos that first sunshiny day. I was able to not only witness the frost falling, but also to hear it. There was a nice icy layer on the snow from the rain, and the frost dropping from the trees made a lot of crunchy noise breaking through that glaze. I stood well back from the trees as I didn't need a load of heavy frost falling on my head and down the back of my neck. There were no smooth areas of snow left under any of the trees: it got pretty lumpy in a hurry.

This week's forecast promises to melt the remaining snow. Dennis says our rain gauge showed .27" of moisture from the melting frost and icy rain after it melted. No wonder that frost was heavy.

The amaryllis I talked about last week is in full bloom. There are only two flowers, but, oh, they're so red, huge, and gorgeous! They're cheering me up. I'm glad to be home to enjoy them. They help ease the pain from losing other plants. I have a few pots of dirt that used to have plants that need to be hauled out of the house. I'll get that tidying up done this week while it's nice outside. Then I'll rearrange the still living plants so as not to have gaps where there used to be greenery. Maybe I'll even get around to potting up the clippings I brought home from Florida. The bicolor Hoya has developed a healthy root, as has the bicolor pothos. One of the other vines our Kimberly sent with me decided to dry up while we were in Minnesota. I hope she'll give me more clippings next time I get there.

I'm starting new vines from one I've kept going for years. It flourishes outside each summer, both in planters and in the flowerbeds, but it gets very leggy inside during the long winter months. It also tends to have a lot of leaves turn black, dry up, and get brittle. There's usually a lot of dead vegetation on the floor near whatever pots I have it in. I've just pinched a lot of ends and stuck them in a short glass of water to develop roots. I also have three avocado seeds that have sprouted and need to be planted. They're getting deformed under the plastic bag I have over them. I wasn't up to doing any of that last week while I was babying myself through whatever illness had struck on our drive home from Minnesota. Being healthy is so much better...

I'm now going to tout the performance that was held at Sean Heavey's Gallery this past weekend. Andy Meyer put together a program called "Charlie's Montana," about the life and times of Charlie Russell. If they put this on again this summer, which I understand is a distinct possibility, you should attend. Dennis and I enjoyed the performance on Sunday afternoon. It was an intimate setting, as the audience was seated close to the actors. There was great music, as well. When we are lucky enough to have live performances up here in the Middle of Nowhere, we should attend and support them. (I'm sorry I didn't get the names of all the performers. Apologies to the cast.)