A Sunday Afternoon in Early May

We finally bought a snow shovel on Saturday evening. The forecast for Sunday was snow--8-17inches. Sunday was May 1, you realize. Snow on May 1 is a bit foreign to me. I feel sure we had it when we lived in Iowa but that is a distant memory.

Isabel wanted to wear a summer dress and her white "heels" to church yesterday. I urged her to go take a gander out the window and see what she thought. She quickly decided to opt for a sweater dress with thick tights and boots. It was 24 degrees with about 4 inches of snow on the ground.

After church, we pulled out onto the paved road and saw the family of snowy foxes we had been warned about. The momma fox and two babies were in the culvert right next to the street. Our car was filled with some excited little people who have been watching that spot closely since our email alert, hoping to get a glimpse of the babies.

Next, we hurried home, changed into our snow gear, ate a quick grilled cheese sandwich, and headed up the mountain in search of deeper snow. We drove up San Isabel mountain to the lake area which is only about 15-20 min from our house. We found almost a foot of powdery snow with more falling. We tromped around and sledded for a couple of hours. We had the whole place to ourselves except for a couple of cold fishermen on the edge of the lake. We nearly had to pinch ourselves to realize we weren't dreaming. It was beautiful and peaceful and just plain fun. This is a good part of why we moved here-- why we fell in love with the mountains and the slower pace of life.

Our afternoon wrapped up with cups of whipped cream covered hot chocolate and coffee at the local diner while we thawed out.

This week is calling for highs in the 60s-70s and lows in the 30s-40s, but we are so thankful for one more burst of winter weather for us to enjoy as newcomers to the area. It was a vacation-like day---only it was just 3 hours on a regular Sunday afternoon. It was an affirmation of the lifestyle change for us all that we hoped for--simple enjoyment of the beauty around us.

Psalm 27:4 "One thing I ask of the Lord, this is what I seek: that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to gaze upon the beauty of the Lord and to seek him in his temple."