...and round.

Yep, another snow day. However, Brian's handbell choir is still leaving for Washington this afternoon for a big 'do,' so I will have to drive him into town. If he doesn't get his rear in gear (it's an "e-day" for high school), he's going on the trip without his cell phone (GASP); that seems to be one of the few leverage tools we have anymore.

The wind died down sometime in the night and we only got a couple more inches of snow, but it ended up in a lot of covered places it doesn't normally land, like the chicken yard and our porch. The hens refuse to set foot in the white stuff, but there were tracks on the porch this morning:

This varied thrush was poofed-up in the cherry tree outside our bedroom window this morning.

The hummers have nectar, and the birdfeeder is freshly filled with black oil sunflower seeds.

I hadn't noticed how big the daffodils had gotten; they even have buds!

Brian brought Sprite out to the great room while he did schoolwork. She thoroughly enjoyed herself, preening, flying, and interacting with him and with me. She's a sweet little feathered jewel, and I was glad for the photo and video opps. I'll share just one image here, and save the rest for a separate, special Sprite post. 😁

That's it for now from . . .

Round and round and round....

Today started out mostly clear, cold, and windy.

I pulled on my fleece headband to protect my ears during chores, and it didn't quite cut it.

Raccoon tracks crisscrossed the barnyard driveway; they aren't getting free-choice black oil sunflower seeds and cat food this winter but I'm sure they still check.

This evening I sat down for a few minutes to post one of the above photos to Instagram and read the latest installment of a blogpal's love story when Brian said, "Mom, look out the window." I turned to look east/northeast and saw this:

When the setting sun throws that much color to the east, there's usually an even bigger show to the west, so I jumped up and ran out the front door with my iPhone. The frigid wind and the brilliant sky left me doubly breathless! (I ducked inside between each installment; brrrr.)

After dark, Jackson took up watch at the deck doors. I checked periodically to see what he was watching; at first it was only wind, then snowflakes. When I flipped on the light to see a gray shape checking the bird feeder, it took me a second to realize it was a raccoon – minus a tail! Poor thing; it was obviously a recent loss. I almost went and got more sunflower seed just to give it a boost while it recovered from the trauma.

For chores tonight I pulled on a heavy fleece balaclava my sister gave me years ago along with my insulated overalls and stayed warm. It's not bitterly cold (we haven't deployed the heated buckets and tank heaters), but it feels much more like eastern Nebraska than NW Oregon out there. Thankfully we have electricity and plenty of firewood, so we're good.

But Brian could be in for another snow day tomorrow.

Sun and snow (and raccoons) come and go at . . .

Buried

I was going to post on Friday evening with outtakes from my Instagram 'F' alliteration, but that (obviously) didn't happen. Sabbath was a busy day, but Saturday evening I had the house to myself for a few hours and thought I'd post after cleaning my tack. Nope. Sunday 'show day' (you'll have to head over to my Dances With Horses blog to read about that) pooped me out.... Then this morning we woke up to forecast snow, a fitting visual for the mental and visual avalanche that occurs when I wait too long to post! Guess I'd better grab a shovel and start digging. ;-)

I posted this sweet photo of Blaise on Instagram for Fiber Friends Friday.

But there was lots more to the laugh-fest love-fest!

Bing and Blake

Bette

Bernadette

Lastly, Sarai and her teefers!

Thursday's, Friday's, and Sabbath's sunrises below.

The last two were taken Sabbath morning, minutes apart, before and during 'fogrise'

Sunday's sunrise was obscured by gray clouds and drizzle. Thankfully, by the time I loaded up Lance and took him to the county fairgrounds to compete, that had stopped.

The last time Lance and I ventured into the dressage ring was three years ago, when my dad came to watch for the first – and last – time. Rick came yesterday, bless his heart; if we can get his big-boy camera to communicate with my MacBook (they don't like each other; never have), I might have more photos to share than just screenshots from an iPhone video. 😕

Today we are in a winter wonderland again. That's pretty wacko for the Willamette Valley at the end of February! (And yes, this is climate CHANGE; the polar ice caps are melting in record-setting mean temps, which is throwing the planet's weather patterns off their normal tracks.)

After suiting up in my polarfleece balaclava and insulated overalls to do chores, I decided to do something I haven't done in ages. I jumped on Lance bareback and rode in the snow!

Silly boy wasn't sure whether to spook at the snow sliding off the rail, or eat it – so he did both. 😆

Whew; I think I've dug myself out. You're up-to-date now on . . .

Wednesday whiskers and wrinkles

I've got a little alliteration thing going on on Instagram this work week. It started when I decided to share the neck shot of Lance (from my last blog post) on Monday with the caption "Mustang Monday." That inspired me to take a photo of Chuckie and share it on "Tuxedo Tuesday." I was going to feature Dozer's features for "Wednesday Wrinkles" but before I could post a photo, my BFF (best furry friend) managed to make it onto my lap with the recliner's leg rest at an angle and groaned as I stroked him. Oh, my beloved dog....

This winter Jackson went from being forever young to showing signs of age. The other day, slayed by a head cold, I lay down on our bed for a bit. Jackson was in the bedroom so I patted the covers beside me, an invitation he can't resist – but he couldn't make the jump. My heart broke for both of us (I laid down on the floor with him for awhile then), so of course this morning I let him monopolize me for as long as he wanted. I tried to take both a selfie of us and a full-body shot of him, but my arm isn't long enough to fit a 60# 'lapdog' in the frame. Instead, I snapped a close-up, and decided it was "Whisker Wednesday."

But since you follow my blog, you get both photos! 😉 (Not all my Instagram photos are shared here, but you can click on that little blue button on the right to see them.)

The weather was wild today, which would also have worked for a Wednesday theme. Some mixed snow and rain fell this morning, then the sun came out for several hours. It showered off and on as I drove down to pick up Brian, and then started sleeting as we drove home. On the way I had to stop and take this photo;

by the time we were driving UP that hill, the sleet was starting to turn the ground white:

Then the sun came out again, so I exercised Lance and was treated to this view from the arena:

No ideas (yet) for a Thursday theme for Instagram; hopefully something inspires me!

That's it for now from . . .

No such thing as smooth sailing

I think I have vague memories of periods in my life when everything was going hunky-dory. But maybe I am remembering dreams and not reality; reality seems to be more of an ever-changing roller-coaster ride than anything else. Highs and lows, thrills and fears; you can never be sure what is around the next turn of the tracks. Sometimes you just want it to STOP for awhile.... The only thing that keeps me sane is a firm belief in what is waiting for me when the ride finally stops and the safety bar releases – oh, and that I have a Safety Bar!

Sorry; you probably didn't want that peek inside my psyche. So how about some pretty pictures? My orchid is still blooming inside, and the daphne odora is still blooming outside:

We've gotten a break from precipitation (more saddle time; more pasture time!):

Home, sheep home

I got some nifty new bags so I use less plastic (we already have a city ordinance banning plastic grocery bags; yay!):

The bags worked great for apples, pears, flaxseed, brown rice, red lentils, and Great Northern beans.

I have a lot of love in my life:

That's cat drool on my cuff!

Jackson really wanted to go outside, or he wouldn't have looked at the camera like this.

And I have beautiful fiber to spin (thanks to the source of some of that love in my life; no, it's not all from animals):

That's all for now from . . .