Thanks for Valerie for suggesting Local 111 as a great restaurant possibility.  I haven’t been there, but it’s right nearby in Philmont, and the menu looks great: Warm chicory salad with bacon, squash and beets, date cake with sherry zabaglione and cranberry caramel, and even fish and chips – yum!  They’re also open for breakfast and their website lists daily specials.

While you’re over in Philmont, a hop and skip will take you to High Falls, managed by the hardworking people at the Columbia Land Conservancy.  Maybe it’s no Bash Bish, but it’s a wonderful place for a hike, maybe to work up an appetite before dinner.

It actually hit -10 degrees last night.  We burned some of the aspen that fell down in the storm earlier this year — it popped like nobody’s business, but it burned hot.

There are coyotes howling and tracks in the snow everywhere: deer, coyote, rabbit, squirrel… here are a couple of pictures from down by the barn: