Juncos And Ouzel

Opened the Cabin door around ten this morning, and it was snowing really nice...nothing on the ground yet...so it was the first flurry...went back in and dressed...geared up with the 12x and the 3x on the tripod...the 3x is a terrific little camera for bad weather....opened the door and it had stopped snowing!...went to Breakfast...then rode the Shuttle over to the Post Office....it was trying to snow...kindof a frozen sleet and the little packing ball like snow flakes...usually these storms start off with some rain...but, like last year, this one was cold enough from the beginning....walked back through Cook's....and back and forth to Lower Falls (tiki stop!)...and out to Chapel Bridge...Juncos clip and pic...and out Lodgpole Point...Ouzel Clip...and across Creek's End back to the Cabin...by now the packing ball snow was sticking and making the ground white...along the walk I took clips and pics, scenics, with the 3x...Falls pic is one...the 3x has as many pixels as the 12x...eight...have ordered up one of the little printers that kinda go together with it...snowed a lot while at work...

I asked for time off tomorrow to go do the Xmas Bird Count...'cept I was never able to hook up with the folks doing it...emailed but no response...puts me off a bit trying to communicate with strangers on things like this...could have persisted, but just let it go...can count birds any old time...but now I have the day hours off tomorrow...and all the snow to paddle about in!!....forgot to order up ski wax for the Cross Country Skis...the snow is dry and cold enough now that they may work....but I'll likely sling the snowshoes on my pack, and just paddled about in boots where I can, and snowshoes where they would work better....oh...I'd really like to go up aways on Four Mile and get a pic of one of my favorite trees with snow on it...it's a young Fir nestled up against a kinda monolith rock...or go over to Vernal...or out to Mirror Lake and look for tracks...oh...even just the Backyard is must see in the snow!!!.....report of Mama Bear and Two Cubs over at the A. Dorms...cloudy stormy cold....first snow!