Jeff Duntemann's Contrapositive Diary Rotating Header Image

December 9th, 2009:

A Sublime Autumn

HouseByLena1.jpg

It got down to -13 F last night, breaking a longstanding record for the date here. By 10:00 AM it had finally broached zero, and I went out to get the morning paper. And while doing so I noticed an interesting thing: The leftover snow that my old and cranky snowblower always leaves on the sidewalks was vanishing. There was no wetness on the walks or the driveway, and I wouldn’t expect any at 0 degrees F. But the little splats and scattered dusting were all going away, and a quick check just now (2 PM) shows mostly clear walks and driveway, except where people have walked or the car passed.

How sublime! I guess at 6600 feet, snow and ice don’t have to melt to go away.

The photo above was taken yesterday by our neighbor and friend Lena Olson, who is a spectacularly talented sculptor and photographer. She made it look like our house was lost in the middle of a wintry nowhere, when in fact there are neighbors on all sides of us, in houses generally bigger than ours. That’s just a telltale of her talent: She knows exactly how to frame a shot. Wow.