We arrived back in the mountains in early December this year just in time for the first big snows. The weather was unseasonable warm and the snows were heavy, and beautiful, making a good base for the ski area.
The lamp post were decorated and soon capped with a white crown.
The bikes were temporarily idle while the snow came down,
And the trees were burdened with the heavy snow,
Causing a lot of broken limbs in town, and therefore a lot of clean-up to be done.
Back at our house the evergreens periodically shook their branches to free themselves of the heavy burden.
Snow piled high on the bird feeder and the railings of the deck.
As the first bit of blue sky re-appeared we could see the work that lay ahead of us.
But when the sunshine finally came back out and the temperatures dropped under a clear sky, we were again presented with our winter fairyland.
As the sun rose it appeared dimly through the mist,
Barely illuminating the snow covered trees.
Even as the day wore one, gray and white were the predominate colors.
However, thing change frequently in the mountains, and a beautiful sunrise on a later day signaled some beautiful days to come. 
While shoveling snow from our deck I witnessed the plow removing the latest snowfall from the half pipe on the slope nearest us.
And across the street the cross-country tracks were being relaid.
I became fascinated by the shadows the sun made on the yet to be shoveled snow as it came through the railing.
