Connie in Ouray

 The tourists are gone, and the ice climbers aren't here yet.  The middle-of-the-street pedestrian signs are down.  It's been so great to get a parking space in front of the post office.  It's that time of year when we can all take a deep breath. A personal note:   Mike and I were married in 1981, and in 1983, we brought our first pets into our home, a foster situation, a mother cat and five one-week-old kittens.  We have always had a cat or a dog or both since that time, 43 years, until Dempsey died in April.  It's been six months, and we decided it was time.  On Monday, we welcomed a bonded pair of girl kitties from Second Chance.  In addition to being two of them, they are seven and nine years old, pretty much unadoptable.  Their names were silly, so we are calling them Laverne and Shirley.  They will always be indoor cats, a strong belief of ours. Shirley Laverne

 Since Friday, we've had two inches of rain and three-plus inches of snow.  It's the really heavy kind with lots of moisture, so it packs down quickly.  We've already had a roof avalanche.  We have a brief respite tomorrow, a wet Wednesday, and then a nice dry spell.  

 Football game: I checked the rain gauge, which was empty Friday morning, and the total as of five p.m. is one and a quarter inches...and it's raining.  Durango, Pagosa Springs, and South Fork are flooding, evacuations in place, businesses closed.  When it rains...

 Since October 15th, we've gotten 5 1/4 inches of rain.  If that had been snow - if only - we'd have four feet on the ground.  It's a 10-to-1 ratio.  We have a break now until Friday, with chances of moisture through the weekend and into Monday. I was mentioning to Mike on the way home from Montrose that last winter, we had three-plus feet less snow than normal, and that is about how low the pond is.  We have noticed that there is less beach in front of JP's house, so that's a sign, small though it is. 

 We received another quarter inch of rain during the night, and we're gearing up for another round starting soon and lasting into tomorrow, flood watch until Sunday noon.  Red Mountain Pass is open, one lane alternating, automated stop light.   I walked down MFL this morning - beautiful! The rock below the Whites' house is how we've been monitoring water levels.  Despite all the rain, I'm not  seeing much of a difference unfortunately.

 We have wanted, desperately needed moisture, but we weren't careful enough about asking for it.  A week ago, we got one and 3/4 inches of rain.  These last 36 hours, we've received two and a half inches of rain, and it has caused the usual problems, mudslides, flooding, and roads closed.  Mineral Farms Lane seems to have escaped the worst of it, but it's looking like Red Mountain Pass will be closed for a while.  There was major road damage on the Silverton side, and from my lack of experience, it doesn't seem to be an easy fix. If it had been a bit colder - if only! - we would have three and a half feet of snow.  I am so ready to snowshoe, but those pesky bears need to hibernate first. Some pictures to make you jealous if you're not here.