So it’s hard to convey or describe just how oddly warm this winter has been in the Southwest. It’s as if the cold air that usually lingers through April has drifted away somewhere. At our mountain home in Custer County, Colorado we usually have snow on the ground from Thanksgiving until Easter, which is often much later in April than it is this year. Usually at our home (about 9,000 feet in elevation) snow lingers until the end of April, first of May. This year we have been essentially snow-free for several weeks. Our creek is in the process of drying up, although there’s still hope the highest peaks may get some much needed snowfall through the end of April. Last weekend I drove to Santa Fe, taking the backroads of New Mexico, passing through Taos. There was a wildfire burning just south of Colorado Springs when we left (and still burning when we returned), and near the border of New Mexico, we passed this fire on a lonesome backroad.
