Bits And Pieces

As I type this the view outside my window has taken a sudden turn toward winter. While yesterday's temperatures were warm and blue mixed liberally with the hazy clouds scattered across the sky's face, today things look completely different. Last night I went to bed to an Indian Summer. This morning I woke up to a preview of winter!

However, there are several reasons why I am enjoying the snow outside my window:

First (and most obvious): I'm inside looking out!

Second: With the Yellowstone fire doubling, tripling, or even quadrupling its size every day recently, I am glad to have weather to slow it down. While 'naturally started fires' are considered eco-friendly, I can't figure out the difference between the smoke from a man-made fire and that from a nature-made fire. Besides, the end result of the extremely hot fires which have been the norm over the last few years, is sterilized soil which grows little but weeds and dog-hair thickets of the junk tree, Lodgepole Pine. But then, that wasn't where this post was supposed to be headed!

Third: Any time you mix white snow with green evergreens, the sight is beautiful. However, add in gold and red aspens and the sight becomes absolutely glorious!

While we thought it might slip away unmarked, the Centennial didn't let us down. So, another September goes on the books as giving us our first day of measureable (barely) snow.

The pleasant but unseasonably warm weather made for good business. However, this time of year we are looking to take a break. So, while the cooler weather has slowed down the traffic, it has also signalled our soon up-and-coming break. Of course we don't 'officially' close until after the first week of hunting season, but things look like they will slow down substantially within the next week.

On another subject - I'm happy to say wildlife sightings are picking up. Several deer sightings of late. A moose tramping through the yard and entertaining dinner guests last night. A red fox trotting by the dining room window at the close of the evening. Elk bugling on the nearby hillsides. And, with this new weather pattern, I'm hoping the sightings will be picking up even more.

A recent post about our day on Red Rock Lake brought an unexpected but pleasant response. Peg Abbott from the Trumpeter Swan Society posted a comment and passed on some interesting (and valuable) information. Apparently the Trumpeter Swan Society has a blog. If you love these beautiful big birds whose preservation was the primary impetus for the setting aside the Red Rock Lakes National Wildlife Refuge, do check out their blog and website.

Another recent treat I will share with you more in an upcoming blog are photos we have received from this summer's guests. This swan photo is courtesy of Jerry James, a Californian who found (and obviously enjoyed) Montana's Centennial Valley.

One more blog I am contemplating is a mostly-photo sampler from our recent jaunt to Grand Teton National Park. While you may wonder how 'that' ties in with Elk Lake and the Centennial, several of our guests have made the trip while staying here or visited there before or after visiting the Centennial. Thus I thought they (at least) might enjoy viewing some of what we enjoyed. Just a sampling follows (but probably not exactly the subject you may have expected to see - more about that another time):

However, for now, I will cut this blog post short and, hopefully, leave you tantalized enough to come back and visit another day!

Lady of the Lake