What a difference a day makes.

The snow was pretty on Christmas day

 then a few days later it snowed, snowed and kept snowing

 adding depth, beauty 

 and better skiing

 Amy and I couldn't resist trekking back to Nicholl's Hollow.

 I found out the name of it when I got to the top before Amy and read the sign. 

A Scout sponsored a Fun Run to raise money to buy benches to put along the trail for his Eagle Project.

 Our deck.  

Where do the cats perch with all the snow on the railings?

It doesn't take the #1 Women's Detective Agency to discover who cleaned our walks right to our front door and even our driveway.

 Sometimes neighbors are just plain nice.

Verla gave us these solar powered dancing friends.

They cheer us all day.

They don't sleep in the villages.

They don't track.

They don't throw up.

They don't scratch.

They don't claw the furniture.

They don't beg to go in and out all day long.

They don't cry for tuna.

Yet they keep us company.

 Amy's birthday eve (day).

 A selfie. Scary.

Later in the day,

the East Winds began to blow.

High winds, cold make Wasatch Front an icy hell 

(Headline Utah section, SLTrib, December 31, 2014)

I didn't know newspapers swore

Possibly only when absolutely necessary

 Note:  No snow on back lawn; no snow on railings.

 Where did all the snow go?

 Oh, yes, on the front porch.

 Beautiful.

 Front door.

 Winds make patterns and designs.

 No snow on the roofs.  

 We had about a foot of snow in the backyard before the winds whipped up.

 Groaning, grinding, grunting, rubbing, scratching, scraping, squeaking, swirling, 
pounding, whisking all through the night.
I'm luckier than most.
I can sleep on my hearing side and block out most of the eerie sounds.  

We're more paranoid since we woke up that morning a year ago and a 60' blue spruce had crashed in our backyard, miraculously falling north barely nipping the house.

By rights, with the wind from the east,

it should have fallen west crushing the house and all occupants.

 Taken from inside the house.

 Several semi-trailer rigs were blown over, and troopers banished high-profile vehicles from Interstate 15 in Davis County, with winds reaching as high as 78 mph in Farmington. (SLTrib 12-31-14)

 Tuesday's subfreezing temperatures had northern Utahns shivering, but brutal, frigid winds early Wednesday will chill the marrow in their bones. (SLTrib 12-31-14)

  Where does a foot of snow go?

 Front sidewalk that Ed Denny had carefully plowed just the day before.

 Poor ole Santa.

Of course, it was garbage day.

No mail.

No garbage.

No newspaper.

I don't blame them

Is Mother Nature an artist or what? 

 "How can Mother Nature be so mean?" Ed wonders.

What will the little new year bring?