Mountain Life

 Maybe followers of this blog are tired of seeing photos of snow but for now that is all we have. I would suspect that living as we do in the mountains sounds adventurous and romantic to some. Actually for us it is more survival but it also comes with adventure and romance. I do not post these photos to extract any sympathy or empathy. We knew exactly what we were getting into when we bought and built our home here. With the purchase of our property came a HUD report that said our average snow for a winter was 264", which translates to 25' of snow. Our winters are 6 months long so that is a little over 4' of snow per month except it does not come like that very often.

The most we have ever received in the twenty years we have lived here is 72" over two days. That time it took us 5-6 days to dig out. In the past 10 days we received 52" in four separate storms. The snow is up above our windows part way. It looks like a break in the weather and we will be digging out over the next several days as the wind dies down and allows.

Life in the mountains is harsh and takes a lot of hard work to survive. We have learned to "go with the flow" or follow the rhythm of the winters. What it all boils down to is survival in harsh conditions. We heat with a wood stove but do have electricity. Frequently the electricity is out for a day or less during these storms due to the wind. We are prepared for these situations.

Living like we do is not easy by any stretch of the imagination but is possible. It is a life we have chosen for ourselves and we love it. The quiet and solitude can be daunting for some people and not many would choose to live our lifestyle. Not when all you need to do is turn up the thermostat and wait for someone to come plow you out. Today the wind is gusting 15-20 mph so we will wait until tomorrow when hopefully the wind will let up and we can see to clear the driveway. It is blowing large clumps of snow out of the trees and we can't see to throw the snow with the tractor.

Life in the mountains can be rough and demanding but we enjoy it and the other three seasons are wonderful. It is hard work, sometimes dangerous but enjoyable.  We know it is not for everyone - in fact probably only a few. We like to share it with others on this blog and we look forward to going from chest deep snow to cutting, splitting and stacking 9-12 cords of firewood for next winter. I certainly wouldn't want to disillusion anyone about the effort and demands of enjoying a lifestyle like ours. It is a harsh climate but we enjoy it.