Lon, I had you in mind when I wrote this... with many thanks for all of your postcards!

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Just west of Edmonton, the land changes from very flat prairie to gently rolling, tree-covered hills. This fine winter morning, we drive through the hills admiring the beauty of frost coated trees interspersed with lightly snow-dusted fields. A brilliantly blue sky contrasts with the bright white snow, and is reflected in the blue shadows cast by the evergreens. Along the fences and at the edge of the forest, clumps of dry grass stick their golden heads out above the snow.

In one field, a herd of cattle huddle together to share their warmth; in another, a murder of crows feast on some luckless animal; but for many miles, we pass only the occasional vehicle - perhaps, like us, headed to Grandma's for the holidays.

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It was -17C (about +1F), as we left Edmonton that day. I like the weather we had upon our return today much better... hovering around the freezing mark!

And it's *so* good to be home!

-- Tricia the Canuck (jayles@telusplanet.net), December 29, 2000

Answers

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-- New (answers@are.us), December 29, 2000.

Trish, what a nice picture. It reminded me of the old Currier and Ives christmas cards we used to get back when. Like most Texans, I can only imagine forests drifted with white, the sound of sleigh bells, or a soft steady snow fall.

I have never been very far north in winter, althought I lived in Lubbock for awhile, and that was bad enough. I never thought it was very pretty in winter, just cold and windy. Nowadays, I think I would see it very different. The caprock canyons, isolated farm houses, and endless horizons seem to have become romantic in my memories, and often call to me to return. Perhaps someday, I'll leave the bayou, and head back to where the blue sky lives, that you talk about.

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-- Lon Frank (lgal@exp.net), December 30, 2000.

Welcome back (((((Tricia!))))) Your postcard was lovely. I'm happy to have warmer temperatures too! J

-- Gayla (privacy@please.com), December 30, 2000.

Thanks for your kind words, Gayla, and Lon!

I hope you both enjoy your warmth! I can occasionally enjoy my cold...days like the one I described are usually the ones that I can enthuse over. Especially when they're a bit warmer!

-- Tricia the Canuck (jayles@telusplanet.net), December 31, 2000.

The woods grow thicketty with sunlight where the road cuts through, and present the passerby with a solid wall of bark and leaf, twig and needle. But, in the early spring, after a week of longer days, the corridor suddenly becomes lined in soft green velvet. The trees and bushes all race to sprout new shimmering green leaves. And interspersed all along the thicket-line, the redbuds flaunt their unabashed gaudiness. I imagine a French Impressionist painting; purple skyrockets in a green sky.

Sudden purple splash

In woods still grey with winter

Redbuds calling spring

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-- Lon Frank (lgal@exp.net), March 02, 2001.

What a lovely picture, Lon!

Spring is still a long ways off from here for us, I expect to see green leaves sometime around mid-May. However, we've just had a week of wonderful temperatures, daily highs above freezing. Not much snow left now.

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Tree trunks gleam silver

Bright against dark evergreens;

Woods ring with birdsong.

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-- Tricia the Canuck (jayles@telusplanet.net), March 04, 2001.

Green rolling prairie
Cattle and horses grazing
Grey clouds rolling in.

Wind turning colder
They say there is snow ahead
Should we turn around?

The road is icy
Car spinning out of control
In ditch, heart racing.

-- Gayla (finally@in.colorado), March 12, 2001.

Gayla, you're okay??

Sheesh, if it's not bad enough to end up in the ditch, you're likely to have a heart attack from the adrenalin rush you get while sliding in!

Hope the mountains are beautiful... is this a visit or a more permanent thing?

-- Tricia the Canuck (jayles@telusplanet.net), March 15, 2001.

Hi (((((Tricia!))))) Yes, we're OK, but you're right about the adrenaline! :-) We were taking our daughter to see a college in Colorado that she is considering for this fall. Fortunately, a kind snow plow driver pulled us out or we would have been there for hours. The scariest part was feeling like we were going to roll. The embankment was very steep. (I was praying!!!) A few miles further down the Interstate, we saw a vehicle that HAD rolled. It's an experience I hope we never repeat! :-)

-- Gayla (privacy@please.com), March 15, 2001.

Sure glad you got out of the ditch, Gayla. Now if we can only get Robert's mind out of the gutter............

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-- Lon Frank (lgal@exp.net), March 15, 2001.

I hope you don't repeat it either, Gayla!

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Warm March chinook blows

Snow melts, and wind dries the ground

Oops, here's more snowfall!

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-- Tricia the Canuck (jayles@telusplanet.net), March 16, 2001.

Is Robert in the gutter again? ;-) Thanks, you guys. I hope to catch up reading on the story thread soon. In the meantime...

-- Gayla (privacy@please.com), March 17, 2001.

Thanks for the Irish moment, Gayla :-)

-- Tricia the Canuck (jayles@telusplanet.net), March 17, 2001.

Green, things growing..... sunny & short sleeve weather ..... Was with sister(s), brother(s) in law(s), couple handfuls of nieces and nephews.

Pollen count only 46. But rising.

-- Robert A. Cook, PE (Marietta, GA) (cook.r@csaatl.com), March 19, 2001.

Rain - wind, messy day.....but no pollen!

(But I got to drive to Huntsville anyway ... drat, dragondunit, darn, shucks.)

-- Robert A. Cook, PE (Marietta, GA) (cook.r@csaatl.com), March 20, 2001.

'Twas a safe trip....Who ordered snow for the mountains on the day I had to drive ?????????

Sunny now, pollen count only 17.

-- Robert A. Cook, PE (Marietta, GA) (cook.r@csaatl.com), March 22, 2001.

Hi ho...Hi ho...It's off to San Diego I go.....'till late, late Thursday.

-- Robert A. Cook, PE (Marietta, GA) (cook.r@csaatl.com), March 24, 2001.

Did you have a good trip, Robert?

Be grateful that your trip was west rather than north... we've been having below 0 F temperatures here again. Spring? Yeah, sure, in May *sigh*

-- Tricia the Canuck (jayles@telusplanet.net), March 24, 2001.

Back.....Yay!

A little after midnight after a long bumpy boring flight. (Better than a shorter but more "exciting" flight I guess though.)

Veronica's alarm went off at 6:00 this morning .... she asked if I was getting up as usual. Told her it was 3:00 "my time" and stayed in bed until 10:00.....nice to sleep in every now and then.

-- Robert A. Cook, PE (Marietta, GA) (cook.r@csaatl.com), March 30, 2001.

Welcome back, Robert! Stayed in bed till 10? I can't even imagine....

-- Gayla (privacy@please.com), March 31, 2001.

Welcome back, Robert!

Gayla, how come you don't get to sleep in? Or are you just smarter than most? Studies on sleep show that it's best for your body to keep to a routine bedtime and rise time, varying them by no more than one hour at any time. Not likely to happen in my case, with my job!

-- Tricia the Canuck (jayles@telusplanet.net), April 01, 2001.

Oh, I'm consistent, Tricia. Consistently up at 5:30! :-) I used to be a night owl. Hope this isn't a sign of old age! ;-)

-- Gayla (privacy@please.com), April 01, 2001.

Whewwwwwww.

Pollen count 3397 today.

Everything's green. And yellow. And sneezing.

-- Robert A. Cook, PE (Marietta, GA) (cook.r@csaatl.com), April 09, 2001.

Yechh. 3490 this morning.

-- Robert A. Cook, PE (Marietta, GA) (cook.r@csaatl.com), April 10, 2001.

Happy easter to All! Robert, Veronica, Tom, and Jean

-- Robert A. Cook, PE (Marietta, GA) (cook.r@csaatl.com), April 13, 2001.

Happy Easter to the Cook family, and to all the FRLians.

-- Gayla (privacy@please.com), April 14, 2001.

Happy Easter to you all, as well!

Sorry to hear you are having such a pollen-filled spring, Robert! Ours is so far so dry that we're concerned for drought. But there's no pollen flying about!

-- Tricia the Canuck (jayles@telusplanet.net), April 14, 2001.

Welllllll - The lakes, stock ponds, and bogs are all refilled from last summer's verrrrrry dry weather, so I guess we now only have to wait for the Mosquitoes to blossom....all of the other flowers have.

Will be good sailing this summer.

Pollen now "only" 1410 today.

But "somebody" imported some cold weather - it's going back to the mid-thirties tonight!!!! Ouch.

-- Robert A. Cook, PE (Marietta, GA) (cook.r@csaatl.com), April 17, 2001.