A Stone Sculptor and Banker Mason with 20 years of experience and an NVQ Level 2 from the City of Bath College, England, I live and carve at 8,000 feet in the Colorado Rocky Mountains.
This past weekend the temperature soared and remained lodged in the sixties. Sandals, Hawaiian shirts, shorts, even straw hats were in evidence all along the valley. It was a summery scene indeed.
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By the onset of early March most people are chomping at the bit to trade winter gear, winter sports, winter anything… for mountain bikes, golf clubs, tennis rackets, fishing poles, you name it. But this year everything seems weirdly out of whack.
This “winter” came and went like a little lost lamb – as mild as mild can be. Consequently when spring burst upon the scene to put it out of it’s prolonged misery the end came as something of a relief – no need to drag the whole thing out.
At last its time to throw open doors, flings open windows, and spill our daily lives back out of doors.
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New Fountain
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Already little odds-and-sods are beginning to take shape – and I haven’t yet opened up the studio workshop. The longer days and warmer nights simply invite projects to spring up, practically everywhere.
So, come along and have a little stroll around the garden. It really is such a lovely time of the year.
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Stark contrasts abound.
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The warm weather has sent the sap rising. Buds are huge this year – everything points to a very lively, robust and energetic spring this time around.
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This year, with all the warm weather, everything seems to be growing to huge proportions – including the mice; what whoppers they are!
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As the snow rolls back exposing more and more ground the extensive network of mouse snow tunnels reveal a complex and seemingly sophisticated network of secret rodent roads linking the entire garden like some massive planned street system.
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Even their snow tunnels seem huge… in order to accommodate their huge girth I imagine. And this year there are just so many of the blighters.
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They even seem to employ amazingly deceptive detours in order to decoy the foxes, whose primary tactic seems to be in caving in the tunnels from above and then digging out the unfortunate half-frozen mouse.
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Once you know where to look you can spot their trails leading everywhere. Apparently where there is snow no place remains out of their reach.