Playing Catch-Up: December

Pictures guide the stories today. Here's a bit of December, before I took off for Mexico, in a nutshell.

1. I inhaled a piece of grated carrot up into my nasal cavity while eating a salad for lunch. It remained there for a week, during which I tried everything you could think of to get it out and developed a new stupid-human-trick. 
2. Temperature have dropped so low that the people of Paonia have been forced indoors only to post regular updates on Facebook about how cold it is outside. Who knew that such a small town was host to so many weather forecasters!? Before this era of bone-chilling cold (yeah, that's right, -14 degrees, farenheit), we used to walk outdoors and laugh at farm animals doing funny things. 
3. Hiking down Red Mt. with Ru and the gang.
4.  My friend Kale has a tipi up at 10,000 feet. We climb up there for a weekend retreat, cram eight people and five dogs into a tiny space and ski, giggle, relax, and eat. These weekends are magical. This trip was in honor of a dear, old friend, Sean, who left us a few years ago for grad school and to play music. 
5. With the whole freeze-thaw cycle, the hill that leads up to the land is like a Extreme Glacial Slip and Slide, complete with a steep drop-off down one side of the road. After I slid and crashed into the bank one morning, I started parking my car at the bottom of the hill. 

That's right, I snorted floss up my nose and pulled it out my mouth, inspiring the future generations of America in the process.

I was spreading the last of fall's leaves on the garden bed when I looked up to snap this photo. 

We make sure to keep Sean's feet warm when he comes so that he'll return again and again.  

Walking home from work. I've picked up some extra time to watch the sun descend each day. 

Out checking out the fresh tracks in the morning. Keeping my eye out for my mountain lion.

Low pressure system socked in on Lamborn

Morning chia seeds