Paradise ponders, frozen elk edition...

Paradise ponders, frozen elk edition...  Yesterday morning Debbie and I took a ride up Blacksmith Fork Canyon to Hardware Ranch.  It had snowed the evening before, and had been below freezing since, so we were hoping for some beautiful winter scenery.  And we got it!  Here are some photos from the outing:

The wind was blowing while it was snowing last night, so the snow is all plastered to one side (the northwest side) of everything.  It stuck particularly well to the teasels in the first three photos.  The last photo shows a phenomenon that we haven't figured out yet.  When we look up at the mountain sides, as in the last photo above, we see swathes of trees flocked with snow – and other swathes that are still green.  Why are some trees clear of snow?

When we got up to Hardware Ranch itself, we could see that the elk were in their winter paddock, and the ranch crew were giving rides to kids (see photos below).  These rides are very popular with the local kids, and earn a good portion of the Hardware Ranch's expenses.

At home I took a couple hours to staple up lightweight canvas all around the periphery of our new deck, to hopefully trap warmed air.  Then I fired up a 20,000 BTU “construction heater” that's powered by propane.  Within 15 minutes, the deck had warmed up by 15°F – most excellent!  I'm going to use this to let me finish the deck wiring and tongue-and-groove ceiling despite the cold weather...