So Tickled the Sun is Back

After experiencing more than two weeks with no sun, sunrises seem extra special. The sun is rising above the Hewlett Packard campus.

Good Morning from Boise

The sun peeking over the rooftops and through the trees this morning.

Abandoned Store?

It's fun finding these relics on the outskirts of town. I'm always surprised there are any left, and they're certainly harder to spot. I don't think this was a house. Maybe a store? I always wonder if the boards could be salvaged.

Chalet Ski Village?

A little bit of snow falling this morning. This chalet-looking structure is right in front of a corn field. It promotes a big subdivision nearby, and maybe the plans are to grow all those houses into the corn field someday.

Blue Cross Pond

A willow at the edge of the Blue Cross Pond. Blue Cross of Idaho is a big campus and Canada Geese love this pond. There are pathways around the campus for walking, maybe to encourage exercise. No one around during our visit.

Alien Sculpture

Alien yard art spotted by my husband. It looks like this might be carved into a tall tree stump. Yep, it's in the front yard. Very unique. I've seen people have tree stumps carved into bears, but never an alien before.

Red, White, Blue and Gold

Yippee! Blue sky and sun. Those who have visited this blog over the past two weeks know I've been complaining about our "inversion" - which meant no sun and lots of haze and fog. The "inversion" is officially over!

Lost Little Log Cabin

A small log cabin sitting near an abandoned silo in an area being built up with warehouses, large office complexes and manufacturing plants. I can't imagine it will be here for much longer.

Giant Building Construction

Another big office complex of some type going up along Eagle Road. This is quite an industrial view, with a railroad crossing, giant electric utility pole and the steel skeleton of the building going up. This is also one of the busiest roads in the valley. The fog/haze/mist is still strong after two weeks.

Little Bit of Snow

Fresh tracks from an early morning dog walk. Just a little bit of snow today, not anything shovel-worthy. It should be gone in a few hours.

The Sun Came Out...Almost

This is the sun, peeking out a little bit for us yesterday. It was a very weak and puny sun because although the clouds parted for a few moments, the fog and haze took away its blaze.

River Snags

Fresh-looking snags in the Boise River. That's not water dripping off the ends, it's ice.

Hazy Horizon

The inversion that has socked us in with fog, haze and cloud cover for more than a week is supposed to start moving on this week. That would be good! I haven't even been able to find where the sun is throughout the day because this stuff is so thick. It's hard to have a sense of time when the sun is missing. Days seem to last a lot longer.

School Mural in Progress

A mural-in-progress on the side of an elementary school, I assume being done by students. A majestic bridge, roads, a castle? I'll have to check back in a few weeks and see if it's done. I think a picture of the school mascot used to be on this outdoor wall.

Gray Sky Backdrop

This is a house-turned-florist and gift shop. Notice that our gray and foggy inversion sky is still here. Not a single speck of sun in more than a week. Those who have gone skiing point out that once they're up the mountain above town, the skies are sunny.

Tiny Ballerinas

Young ballerinas practicing at the Esther Simplot Performing Arts Academy, downtown Boise. I can't bear to show you what the outdoors looks like because....we're still suffering the inversion that I mentioned with solid cloud cover and fog. We're ready for the sun to come back.

Puppies Times Ten

Surprise! Friends who live on our street have welcomed 10 puppies into their lives. Can you count them up? (One is hiding behind his mother's head, so you won't see him in this picture). They thought Springer Spaniels usually had 4-5 puppies. Seven boys and three girls. I think they're going to try to sell them. No, we won't be getting one. I'm strictly a crazy cat lady. But we do have visitation rights to see these cuties once a week until they go to new homes.

And...More Fog

Hmm...look a lot like yesterday? This is an afternoon shot of the fog-that-never-goes-away during an inversion. Normally, fog dissipates during the day, but while some areas become a little more clear, the fog is still there, and other areas are still socked in. It will probably look like this all week. It's only really Day Three of this stuff, but we're already talking about planning a trip to visit my parents in Arizona to get away from it.

The Fog Rolled In

The fog rolled in and it supposed to stay here all week, all day, every day. This is another symptom of an inversion, which I mentioned Monday. The weather pattern is trapping the fog, and pollution, and here it will stay until the weather changes.

Furry Bikinis Anyone?

This business came to mind the other day when I posted a picture of Squaw Butte, and gave a pronouncer for "byoot." This company that makes "furrkinnis" is pronounced the other way some might pronounce the word "butte." They make swimsuits and shorts out of muppet/plush animal fur. They also make hats and CD cases, and although I can't say it out loud to anyone because they might take it wrong, I actually OWN some of this "buttfurr." Okay, okay, I'll show you my collection....

A CD case...and a hat. No furrkinnis for me. But if you get one, let me know!

Inversion on Tap

The middle of this photo is blurry because of pollution. We're getting into an inversion, and it can get bad unless the weather changes. We need rain or a strong breeze to move it along. The pollution from throughout the valley drifts to Boise and gets caught up against the mountain range. I took this photo looking down at the Western Idaho Fairgrounds from the First Bench.

Buy 1 Get 1 Free - for Cars?

This is the first time I've ever seen a "two for the price of one" offer for cars. I suppose dealers are trying to think of ways to boost sales and have decided to use a discount store idea.

Church View of the Mountains

Looking across an abandoned corn field at a catholic church in Eagle (right next to Boise). You can't really see anything of "Boise" - which sits right below those mountains. Boise is at a lower elevation than where this picture was taken, which is why it's hidden.

Breaking the Law...Probably Having a Blast

Young kid riding a motorized scooter illegally down a city street. These scooters are not allowed on streets, or sidewalks. What? No helmet? For that case, no shoes? Does his mother know? I bet he's having fun, though.

Squaw Butte

Looking across snowy fields at Squaw Butte (say "byoot," not....you know, the other way you might pronounce it), which is between Boise and Emmett. It looks like it stands all by itself when viewing it towards the northeast from Boise, but it's really connected to the Boise front mountains. You just can't see the connection from the Boise view. It's a popular hiking spot, and a spot for controversy some years ago when some Native American groups petitioned to have the name changed. Some said the word was offensive to women, others said it is simply an interpretation of the word "woman" and not offensive, and that place names with the word were meant to be an honor.The name stayed the same.

Winter Driving

The view driving my daughter to school yesterday. The clear ruts were deceiving because although they looked clear, they were icy. My round-trip commute of about 10 miles took one hour, ten minutes.

Channel Your Inner Gangsta

"For sale" in the party section for little girls at Wal-Mart. Just what you want your daughter and her friends to wear, eh?

And This Means....?

This slogan was on the back of a tow truck I saw over the weekend. The meaning? Well, maybe it means drive like crazy because you don't care since it's not yours. Or, maybe just drive nice and polite so as not to call attention to yourself. Or, maybe there is some other innuendo I don't get. Political? Business? Other? A phrase used in rap songs?

The Ski Resort Above Town

This is what we can see of the ski resort above town, called Bogus Basin. If you look closely, or click to enlarge the photo, you'll see lights on the left hand side of the mountain. The resort was gearing up for night skiing. I've gone night-skiing tons of times, in a previous life, and it was always interesting that the temperatures were often warmer at night than they were earlier in the day.

Gunslingers

I took this snapshot while driving when I unexpectedly came upon these kids with guns walking down the street. I circled around for another photo, something more focused, but they were gone, off huntin' something, I suppose. I assume those were pellet guns slung over their shoulders. Maybe the guns were Christmas gifts?

Mucky Muddy Weather

Rain, wind and muddy muck just about everywhere. Having all that snow melt last week has saturated our clay soil, plus, we're getting more rain. So, some shiny, happy news to share to reverse the gray! Amber Conger, an artist I "met" through this blog, is on the front page of our local newspaper today. Read about her winning art creation for the new Meridian City Hall. Below, an example of her work, a piece I really like. Congratulations Amber!
By the way, over at Eat Boise, I've posted my crab-stuffed shrimp recipe. It's a good thing!

January Theme Day - Best Photo

The CDP Theme Day is "best" photo of 2008. I'm not a photographer, so I chose four of my favorites for 2008. And these first two weren't even taken by me, both were taken by my husband. The fall full moon against our desert landscape above.

This sunset picture was taken south of Boise.
This, I believe, was an early season sprinkler accident. It looks like there was an ice storm, but it was just a hard frost overnight with a sprinkler running.
And this is the classic "Mentos in a soda bottle" experiment at our local library this summer. These kids had never seen the experiment before, and I love the poor girl on the right whose job it was to "measure" the height of the explosion with that yardstick she's holding.