Sourdough Slim is Back!

This weekend the Border Inn is hosting the seventh annual Sheepherder's Party. We went last night, and it was quite the kickoff, with a delicious dinner followed by great entertainment.

I'll get some more photos posted soon. Sourdough Slim is back with his musical and joke repertoire and will be doing a special program at 2 pm today.

For more info about the Sheepherder's Party, see this post on ProtectSnakeValley.com.

Dinosaur Tracks

Desert Boy got his first pair of snowshoes this Christmas, and yesterday we decided to try them out. The valley is pretty much snowless, so we had to drive up to nearly 7,500 feet in the mountains to find some snow. Unlike our friends and family in other parts of the country, we've been having a snow drought. We want some snow!

The snow was a bit crusty, so there wasn't much give when Desert Boy walked on it. The flip side was that he didn't sink in.

He did quite well for a first time snowshoer, not tripping too much. Of course it helped that most of the time Dad was on one side and Mom on the other.

Stomp, stomp. The tracks didn't come out too great, but we'll try again.

Eventually it was time for Desert Boy to get a ride on the sled. Even dinosaurs get tired.

He didn't want to take his snowshoes off. They look really big when he sits like that!

But eventually his boot fell off. And then he fell out. And then he got cold. And then it was time for the dinosaur to head back down to a lower elevation and warmer weather. It's not easy being a dinosaur!

Playing on Ice

We discovered that although the snow has melted off the meadows near our house, the ditches are still full of ice and snow.

Desert Boy thought the ice was really cool and couldn't wait to go walking on it. Since there's no water running under the ice, we knew it would be safe for him to slide along.

The slippery ice was instant fun.

Desert Boy says, "Follow me!"

He liked it when the ice cracked under him.

You can see how dry everything is--we've had a dry winter so far.

Then we got to a patch of slippery ice and Desert Boy pretended he was an ice skater.

Complete with falling down! It's fun to enjoy the simple things of life.

Exercising Indoors

When we need a break from the winter weather and Desert Boy still has plenty of energy (a common occurrence), we head over to the upper shop. He has his bike over there and that's one spot that has a flat, even floor.

He's recently improved his pedaling quite a bit so he can ride around in circles in the open bay and then around the chopper and balers.

Although turns can still be a little tricky. Hopefully by the time it starts warming up he might be ready to try some of the gravel roads.

Check Out the Birds!

There's still time to be involved in Christmas Bird Counts! Here's a post on Protect Snake Valley about an upcoming one, along with some preliminary results from other area bird counts.

Do you know the bird pictured above? It was a surprise in the South Snake Valley Christmas Bird Count, the first time it had been seen in the winter count. The answer is at the link.