A WILD RIDE INTO A FEBRUARY THAW - What a "rollercoaster" of a winter it has been - up and down, warm and cold, etc. - but I have to say recent wild weather has accelerated the "ride", putting us all inside a giant shredder that removed branches from trees and toppled many others, making for a wild ride, indeed. While our little valley is sheltered by its surrounding hills from most storms - which normally come from either the southwest or northwest - we are wide open to the