Payson Temple; The Icicle of Doom

The Payson Temple is coming right along now. For a long time it only looked like they were pushing dirt around when I peeked through the cracks in the fence. Now there is some serious high-rise stuff to see, even from far away.

When Bronwyn, Liam, and I drove to the temple lot the employee entrance was open. I jumped out of the car and stood just inside the gate to snap a couple of pictures. Liam was excited the temple was going to be blue. I had to explain to him that was just some of the construction material. Liam sighed sadly. "It would have looked pretty awesome if it was blue," he said.

Bronwyn and Liam are standing northwest of the temple lot. This is currently the only place you can get a fully unobstructed-by-fence view of the temple. My children are so excited to see it coming along. Owen is sad it won't be finished before he leaves on his mission in 2014.

And here is the Icicle of Doom on the front corner of my house. There is actually the Killer Icicle of Doom hanging from the upper corner of the house right over the porch where this one is growing. In fact, the upper one looks a little like those stalagtite and stalagmite combinations in Timpanogos Cave. It nearly touches the roof of the porch, with a little tiny stalagmite reaching towards the point of the hanging icicle.

The winter inversions have hit with a vengeance here. Our highs have barely been in the 20's F. The ice is sticking to the driveways and streets -- driving over the bumpy, icy roads feels like four-wheeling. I don't seem to be able to get out to the chicken coop to retrieve any eggs before they freeze solid and crack. Those frozen eggs just get tossed in the garden. I've idly wondered if putting sheets of glass or see-through plastic over the top or lining the sides would warm things up a bit for the chicken run to give the chickens someplace to hang out besides huddling in their coop. This winter is quite the opposite of last year, for sure!