Wind Songs: Is Summer Here Yet? Maybe. Maybe Not.

Right now it is 78 degrees, the sun is shining outside, and I am sitting wearing a t-shirt and shorts.

The white legs are a little startling.

These pictures were taken two weeks ago.

It snowed on this day, but the week before and the week after saw non-stop rain in Cody.

I knew that it could snow any day of the year here.

I didn't know that it could rain for two straight weeks, and yet here we are.

The snow was unexpected and beautiful in late May but it was gone by the end of that same day.

Still in pajamas and wearing a heavy coat first thing in the morning, I wandered around the yard with my still-sleepy dog, enjoying the sight of the unexpected.

Snow is always welcome to this Norwegian-English-Australian-Canadian-American woman.

We purchased the little wooden bear while living in Idaho, he sits in the gravel at the bottom of the front steps of the house and I love him.

The wagon sits in the side yard of the house across the road from us..................

My kayaks.

Waiting patiently - waiting to get out on the lake...............

We had this giant horse on the side of our house over in Idaho.

He has a broke hoof but we kept him anyway.

Maybe we will just mount him as-is and ignore the broken leg.

Or maybe we'll use him as a template and just make another.

Not sure yet, but I'm glad we kept him and eventually we'll do something with him...................

These are my water shoes.

I carelessly threw them onto the back deck after our brief trip on the water a few weeks earlier, and quickly forgot about them.

I'm sure at some point they dried out, but on this day they were covered in snow......................

A week later the snow was long gone, it was almost June, and I was becoming increasingly restless.

I don't mind long winters in Wyoming.

And I don't mind short summers in Wyoming.

But by this time it was almost June and it was SUPPOSED to be consistently warm by now.

After making a brief stop in Clark (an isolated community of homes about 30 miles from Cody) to pick up a patio set of wrought iron and ceramic table and chairs, we stopped on the way home at Newton Lakes.

Newton Lakes are located only a few miles outside of Cody.

Two small bodies of water, a few short hiking trails, known for both rattlesnakes and grizzly bears at certain times of year, but also widely used by locals who want to fish, paddle, and generally enjoy the outdoors.

This was the first time we had stopped here since our return to Cody back in the fall of 2017 and on this beautiful day I was very glad to be out.................

The nose of Heart Mountain barely visible beyond the hills, and still covered in snow......................

There were a handful of vehicles in the parking lot and as I looked around us, trying to get the lay of the land I saw a few fishermen floating in the water.

The lakes were small enough that motors were not permitted, so their small boats and rafts were all fitted with oars.

One young family had a couple of dogs with them, and Kory was instantly attracted to them.

She loves everyone and everything.

People. Animals.

She wants to be friends with them all, and hesitantly made her way over to the labs, wanting to say hello.

Within a minute the ice was broken and they all ran and played for a few minutes before Kory broke it off to head into the lake and cool down.................