Haloranch

The remaining snow on our deck is grainy and heavy with moisture. It's an incredible 31 degrees in the sun and the eavestrough occasionally drips on me, giving me a quick splash of relief. My skin is so hot that when I put snow on my arms to cool down it instantly melts. In a blink it evaporates. It's not long before I notice my arms burning and I wonder how this can be. I'm surrounded by snow. But sheltered in the lee of the house and on a south facing deck, it's hot enough to imagine I'm in the Caribbean. If I close my eyes. Hans brings me a chair for my feet, a glass of cool wine and a thermometer to gauge how hot it's getting. I'm trying to read but I keep glancing across the ravine at the great horned owls' nest. It's just so nice to bask outside and let the hours slip away...

I discovered a new way to distract myself on the treadmill. This morning I slipped my sudoku book into the book holder in front of me and amazingly, I treaded on oblivious to the passing of time! Initially when I had to write in a number, it was barely legible as I was trying to write while I walked. Luckily I didn't have many numbers to fill in! Evenutally I just stepped aside, quickly inserted the digit, then resumed walking. It actually worked quite well. I wish I had the book with me now.

I see you! Hans was enjoying a soak in the hot tub this evening when he looked out into the twilight. He came eye-to-eye with huge doe eyes. A heavily pregnant mule deer, big ears alert for any danger, was peeking into the spa window. Three of her companions were strolling around the greenhouse nibbling at dead grasses tall enough to poke through our recent snowfall. Across the ravine, two great horned owls were inspecting the 15 year old nest that still sits high up in the poplars. Maybe this year we'll have little owlets!

This morning, as usual, I got on the treadmill. It's my habit to start off slowly at 3.0 mph (4.8 kph) while I use the remote to flip through the channels and find something to watch on TV. This done, I quickly settled into my routine which is to bump up to 3.8 (6.08 kph) for 2-3 minutes at a time, then settle back to 3.4 for a bit, and repeat. I aim for a total of 10 minutes at 3.8 during my 20 minute workout. This morning I was delighted to find that finally, I wasn't breathing hard after 3 minutes at 3.8. Nevertheless I dropped back but quickly found that it was too easy at that pace so I resumed speed at 3.8. I double checked. Yup, I was definitely at the right speed. Encouraged, I decided to just maintain that speed. Then I realized I had forgotten to set the elevation. Phooey. Our treadmill goes from 0 - 12 in elevation and I usually work at 8. Today it was 0.