The first October snow brought bitter cold temperatures. Those of us concerned about Colorado wildfires are grateful for the moisture, and hopeful the snow will assist firefighters in controlling the burn.

Let's reminisce about warmer days for a moment. The summer of 2020, we spent a lot of time in the mountains. As a result, we saw lots of wildlife. Some were repeaters.

A bunny decided to take advantage of all the convenient hiding places we created on our ranch. I saw it nearly every weekend. The bachelor deer herd enjoyed grazing our field.

Others were new to me, or had been elusive for many years. A fishing trip to Wyoming brought us up close and personal with mountain goats and beaver. 

​I didn't realize how large pelicans are until I saw them standing next to Canada geese.

The first day of our fishing trip, I broke my phone, which is also my camera. I didn't get any photos after that, but my husband did. Below are a few.

I had a dream I could not go inside my favorite natural foods grocery store because I didn't have a face mask. Then I remembered my husband had stocked all our vehicles with masks. I opened my glove box. Every mask in my car was soiled with motor oil. 

Part of this anxiety dream may have been inspired by my forgetting to take pretty home-sewn masks with me, and being stuck wearing the blue paper masks we keep in our vehicles.

Since having that dream, I have stocked my purse and vehicle with masks sewn by our elder daughter and myself.

I used material I purchased over the years with the intention to sew a quilt. That project never left the ground. Instead, the small pieces of material are being put to an unexpected use.

We can argue whether masks are effective or not, but the fact is they are required in my workplace, and at many of the places I shop. Maybe it's a little bit of rebellion to make the depersonalizing face mask a statement of individuality.

How about you? If required to wear a mask, do you go with the institutional look, or do you choose a fun look? Or scary, like my co-worker with the monster-face masks.

In late August, I removed the Facebook icon from my cell phone. It was too easy to constantly check on social media. So I detached. 

A couple weeks later, we went on a Wyoming fishing trip. There was no cell service. We were off the grid. To add to the isolation, I dropped my phone on gravel the first day, shattering the screen. 

I did not panic. I felt deliciously self-sufficient. Lately, I have been concerned at how comfortable I'd gotten with receiving news in bite-sized pieces. No one writes letters. Facebook posts are typically a picture and the briefest of explanations. More like captions.

I'm tired of a captioned life. If all people have time for is sound bites, glimpses of others' realities, I'll take a pass.

Instead of Face-booking, I've done a little sewing, more blogging, and more reading. When we drive anywhere that takes an hour or more, I read Grant, by Ron Chernow, to my husband. At over 900 pages, this biography is taking us months to read. And it is making us both think and learn about American history.

Being off the grid made me feel like I didn't exist anymore. Not in the bustling, frenetic world of electronic connections. I enjoyed being disconnected.

This little beaver slapped its tail on the water to warn me to keep my distance. I told it my kind used to make hats out of its kind. Fortunately for the beaver, fashions changed.

Maybe trends will change for people, too. Instead of superficial exchanges with faceless strangers via electronic devices, maybe we can get back to more meaningful communication.