Winter wonderland

Yes, we finally got a taste of winter.  Snow, that is.  We've had some cold, dry weather so far this season, but we had real snow.  Beautiful, white powder...about 12" of blinding whiteness.  *sigh*  We even had drifts that were between 2-3 feet deep.  Seriously cool.

The horses loved it, the dogs were crazy about it, and we enjoyed it immensely!  The cats?  Not so much.
I drove home last Thursday at noon to make sure my fire didn't go out, and while I was digging through the wood pile, I got a call from my boss.  He asks me if I'd like to have the afternoon off?  Would I!!??  Whooppee!!  A real snow day!!  I absolutely felt like a kid again.

Ruby - come on mom!

It was such a gift, totally unexpected and I thoroughly enjoyed my "stolen" afternoon of peace, serenity and domesticity with the house all to myself!!  :)  I baked a pie.  I kept the home fires burning.  I fed the birds.  I brought the horses inside and gave them a flake of hay.  I did some laundry, watched the menagerie of birds bicker over the seed, took the dogs for a walk and took lots of pictures.  It was wonderful!!

And it never stopped snowing until Saturday night.  I got to stay home Friday too.  An unexpected long, snowy weekend.  We were pretty much housebound all weekend long.  We got a little freezing rain Saturday night after the snow stopped, and that made the roads a bit treacherous.  Call me crazy, but I loved it!

Eagle's frosty lashes

Ladde

And now today, all the snow is gone except for some occasional piles here and there.  We're back to 40-something temps and rain...lots of rain last night, along with the moisture from the melted snow, makes for a soggy, wet, green mess.  It was fun while it lasted.  I now have a better (albeit tiny) understanding of just how much more work having snow makes winter chores.  If I had to endure weeks or even months of snow, I would seriously consider a different lifestyle.  We're just not set up for it.

Harley

Kadie and Shad

Missy

The living room project continues...slower than I'd like, but it's coming along.  Paint is finished, pellet stove is out and all the brick hearth has been removed.   Originally we weren't going to remove the hearth, but after reconsidering, hubby ripped it out too.  Out with the old - in with the new!!  We also painted the one end wall that is done in beaded board.  I've always liked it, but decided to paint it as well.  The wood was a light oak, maybe even maple color that just didn't seem to "go" with the rest of the room colors.  I'm still getting accustomed to it, I like it painted, just don't love it.  Funny how these projects always end up much more complicated and lengthy than one envisions at the beginning...

Frozen rain chain

So, that's about anything that's new in our neck of the woods.  What's going on with you?

The calendar says we have 5 more weeks of winter, and less than 4 weeks until daylight savings time begins.  That's always a reason to get excited - right?  Spring is just around the corner.  Better finish up with those inside projects so we can spend as much time as possible outside with the horses, in the garden and enjoying the warmer days soon to come.

Can I get an Amen to that?  :)    

Annie

Oh yeah!!

Look momma, it's snowing!!!

That's what I felt like saying when I first climbed out of bed this morning and peered out my bedroom window...snow. Beautiful. White. Perfect. Snow. If only my mom were here to share this winters' morning with me - it really would have been perfect.

It always amazes my senses at how pristine and oh, how so very quiet the world seems after a snowfall. This was only the second time this winter that we've had snow, and it's so very pretty. It's real snow too, you know, powder. Not our usual, white rain. It won't last long, so I grabbed my camera and snapped a few shots off. Got some good ones of the dogs frolicing in the backyard too. Ruby needed to go out for "poddy on the grass", but when I opened the door for her - freeze frame - what the heck is this stuff?? It was so cute! Didn't take her long though, to figure out that this stuff is pretty darn cool!! And off she went...her and Annie both. Oh, to be a kid again, and to feel that excitement of a "snow day". Wouldn't it be grand!?

But, no snow days for this gal, so I grabbed a cup of coffee and enjoyed a few glorious moments in my rocker by the woodstove before heading for the shower and off to work. Have I mentioned lately how much I long to be able to spend some time without having to head out the door every single day of my life? Yes? - well okay then...

The drive to work was beautiful; but a bit dicey at best. This lunatic picked the worst possible spot on the highway to - sort of - pull off the road and have a little chat on his cell phone...on an incline and on a corner where those needing to get around him, had to pull into the oncoming lane just to try and see if there was traffic coming. Fortunately, for me, a truck pulled onto the roadway from a sidestreet in front of me, which let me know no traffic was coming and I was able to safely go around joker boy in his cute little car...grrrr...I gave him my best scally look as I drove by him. Then the guy pulls out and rides my bumper all the way into town. This, however did not bother me in the slightest because I have a very large and very heavy steel hitch protruding from the back end of my truck. I might have felt it a little, if he were to hit me...but, you can bet it wouldn't have done the front end of his cute little car any good at all. I pulled into a parking lot and allowed him (still chatting on his cell phone) to go around me, and from there I poked all the rest of the way to work. I didn't slip a tire, but was in 4-wheel drive and going very slowly all the way to the clinic. Why, I'm here - I have no idea - there was one call on the appointment book and the client called and is having the doc come to her house instead. *sigh* At least I'm collecting my pay, even if there's nothing to do...but you never know if something might come up. Life of the veterinarian, I guess.

I'm still a bit lame on my leg, but doing much better after the dogs plowed me over last Saturday while we were out on a walk...Ruby crouches down and awaiting the perfect moment for her attack...catapults herself towards Annie when she's not paying attention...Annie (purely out of self-preservation), wheels and runs in opposite direction of ensuing assault...forgets about mom existing, momentarily...and like a freight train, mows mom down like a summer lawn. You get the picture...the doc says give it a week or so, it should be much better...can you say Aflac???
Diagnosis: strain of the lateral collateral ligament of the right knee (LCL)...collect $150.00
Yay me!!! I gotta get something for my pain and suffering - am I right?

Anyway, the snow is melting as I type, and the sky is bright blue and the sun is shining. It could get even more entertaining around here if it re-freezes tonight. Who knows - maybe I'll get that snow day yet! Hope it's interesting wherever you are at!!

Blessings...cingspots

Winter Wonderland

This is my most favorite barn in my neighborhood and is quite picturesque in the snow. The hills in the background are the foothills of the Coast Mountain Range. These shots were taken by my hubby on our way into the clinic yesterday. He just held the camera out the window while I drove.

This is the same barn and homestead from a different angle. I thought the shot was quite lovely with this tree in the foreground.

The two shots above are just a bit closer in towards town. I thought this view of the snow covered hills and trees was very pretty. Quite the winter wonderland. I just wish those trash bins were in a different spot. The building on the right is one of the hundreds of local wineries in the area. The entire area is going to the grapes. Everywhere you look, farm fields and hay crops are being planted in grapes and wineries seem to pop up overnight. One reason why our hay prices have skyrocketed in recent years.

This shot is the small town that I pass through each morning on my way to work. It looks so pretty all blanketed in the snow. Small town America. I had no trouble driving, but my top speed was about 30 mph and I did have the truck in 4-wheel drive just to be safe. I don't have very much experience driving in snow and ice, but it just seems to be a matter of common sense to me. I drive slowly, make no sudden movements with the steering, avoid using my brakes and leave plenty of space between vehicles. And...I sing. This morning my song of choice was Silent Night...all the way to the clinic. Helps me relax.

This shot here is from our back door on the deck. It was a beautiful sunrise. Do you see all the kitty tracks in the snow? It always seems so very quiet when the world is covered in snow. Maybe we'll have a white Christmas this year...that would be a nice change of pace.

This last weekend was a very quiet and relaxing couple of days for my hubby and me. My kind of weekend to be sure. Friday evening we got a pizza and watched a movie on tv after the horses were all fed, watered, blanketed and tucked away in the barn as snug as bugs in rugs. Sabbath morning we went to church. The service was lovely and we sang bunches of beautiful Christmas hymns. Truly one of my most favorite parts of Christmas. Then in the afternoon, my niece Shelley came over and we baked Christmas cookies and made candy all afternoon. But, wouldn't you know it, I was so wrapped up in what I was doing, I completely forgot to get any pictures of our labors. We made oatmeal-chocolate chip, no-bake chocolate coconut cookies, peanut clusters, rice krispie treats with peanut butter and chocolate, Thumbprints with strawberry jam, Snickerdoodles and butter cookies with homemade butter frosting. Yum!! This coming weekend I hope to finish up with my baking projects and begin assembling my homemade goodie baskets. And...on the way home from church, guess what we found?

This absolutely gorgeous Golden Retriever!! She's so friendly and probably about a year and a half old. She narrowly missed being hit by both our truck and someone else coming in the opposite direction. She was soaked to the bone and disoriented acting, as though she were lost. There were no houses in the nearby vicinity and we felt that we couldn't just drive away and leave her there looking so forelorn. So...softies that we are, we loaded her inside our truck and brought her home. Shoowee, she stunk too!! My hubby gave her a bath and she and Annie had a grand afternoon. These pics were taken Sunday afternoon shortly after the snow began falling.

See those two - what a pair!! They had a blast frolicking in the snow and playing with Annie's beloved ball.

Here is Buttons making snow angels. Every time we would let her out in the snow, this is what she wanted to do...silly girl!! Yep, we did indeed find her owners and they had been missing their beloved "Buttons". She has a family complete with two little boys of her very own. A happy ending to be sure!

I know that Annie enjoyed playing with her newfound friend, but I can't say that she was upset when Buttons went home either. What a jealous dog we have!!

Hope everyone stays warm and toasty in this beautiful, but frigid winter wonderland.

Blessings from Cingspots