Glee

It was beautiful when Rick and I did chores last night. We went to bed knowing that a certain boy would be excited to wake up to snow; sure enough, we were jolted out of a sound sleep this morning by "IT'S SNOWING!"

Off to fix a hot breakfast at . . .

Skippity-do-dah....

This morning the ewe flock was in rare form. When I opened the fold to usher them into the wooded lot (on the left, below), only Marta and Annabeile cooperated; the rest bounced past the open gate and up the driveway. I shut the gate on Marta and Annabelle and managed to herd Bart, Bonny and Inky back into the fold, where I haltered them and led them to their proper place. After a merry romp, Bramble decided to throw in the towel and walked up to me. The last ewe standing on the wrong side of the fence?
Sweet saucy Sarai!

She put on quite the rodeo before I finally managed to corner her in the fold, put a halter on her, and lead her, puffing, to join the other sheep.

So that was the AM entertainment. Here is this evening's show:
Our weather is scheduled to change, with a decent chance of measurable snowfall Sunday and/or Monday. I'm hoping it won't be too cold or slick, because I'm tentatively scheduled to go look at a couple different horses on Sunday!

That's it for today from . . .

Poems, prayers and promises

Since last night, different picture poems have been repeating on my computers. I'm finally accomplishing a much-needed back-up of my MacBook (onto my old PowerMac, which has turned into my external hard drive) thanks to a handy little gadget my husband picked up. The screensaver on my MacBook is Beach, and the screensaver on my PowerMac is Forest. As I check in on the back-up progress, my eyes are always drawn to the soothing greens and mysterious depths of the Forest; the bright sun and blue of the Beach somehow jar my senses. Maybe if we were having our usual winter rainfall I'd react differently, but I really don't think so. The beach scenes cycling through the screensaver are those of a vacation destination, a place for leisure. I guess some people dream of laying around somewhere with nothing to do; after a very short time that would be a form of torture to me. This is as it should be; I don't find any evidence in the Bible or nature that God created us to be idle!

This morning during worship, Rick prayed for growth. I almost snorted with laughter, but kept my reaction to a silent smile. You see, things have been rough around here for awhile now. We are doing our best to trust in God and encourage one another, but it's not easy. But tough times are God's "growth medium"! When we desire growth, God doesn't just sprinkle us gently with a heavenly watering can, He sends wind - sometimes gale force winds! - to strengthen us. That is the only way we can become strong like the mighty trees of the forest, rather than remaining spindly greenhouse starts.

I am so very thankful that God is my Shepherd and my Fortress - and thankful for my sheep (and other blessings) that remind me of this daily.

That's it for now from . . .

Dog Fog-walking

It's been a cold, grey day here, befitting my horseless mood. Finally, I kicked my rear out the door in the fading daylight to take Jackson on a brisk walk. It's hard to stay in a funk while exercising in the company of a good dog, surrounded by mysterious beauty!

From top: cherry orchard in fog; Aussie in the mist; the madrona tree whose trunk was featured in yesterday's post.

Off to knit a spell at . . .