Wednesday, February 27, 2008

Snow - Real Snow: at last!!!

February 27, 2008









We had many "dear" visitors today. They seemed to know it was going to get colder and the snow was not going to relent for long. Eleven of them made their appearance first thing this morning when they came running down the mountain across the street and, uncharacteristically, continued on down the back of our property. We thought it very strange indeed as they generally come and go without any apparent cause for alarm. However, after we took a walk (yes, it was 8 degrees, 7" of snow on the ground and still falling - both snow and temps) we saw an animal that we have only seen recently a few times. It is brindle in color, has a face similar to a pit bull and appeared to be a wild dog. We wonder if this is actually a dog or some other animal. If anyone has seen this animal and knows what it is, please comment below.





Nice day for an outing, sledding and picture taking (there really is a sled there somewhere). We were so excited to actually get some snow accumulation we just could not resist!


Sunday, February 10, 2008

Road Paving









February 10, 2008
In October the contractors hired by the state began the road paving between Banner Elk and Ski Beech and completed the project the beginning of December. However, weather conditions and road treatments for ice and snow have deteriorated some of the paving and almost obliterated the striping. There have been some accidents on the road, partially due to the inability to see the stripes on the road during foggy and snowy conditions. Last week the state came back in, put reflectors in the middle of the road (recessing them enough to avoid the snow plows) and re-striped the road. The only issue now is the asphalt wear that seems to be a result of doing the work in colder conditions than are ideal. I understand that the company hired to do the work is being charged $150/day until all issues are resolved. The pictures shown are after the re-striping was just completed.