Morning glories

We've implemented a new routine at Rick's suggestion. He and Brian do morning chores now, instead of Brian and me. While it does seem to make mornings go more smoothly, especially the mornings I have to leave for work, I miss going to the barn first thing and seeing all my fleecy, furry and feathery charges. Doing chores at night gives me fewer photo opportunities, and with that, less blog fodder.

Time for a fresh look at my mornings. Every day dawns differently; "subtle" can be sublime.

Rising before the sun, an Anna's hummingbird arrives for refueling.

On my way down our hill, I look for our signature peaks – Mt. Hood (below) the most obvious, but also Mt. Jefferson, Mt. Adams, Mt. St. Helens, and on a clear day, the tip of Mt. Rainier.

The only "snow" we've had so far at our elevation:

That's it for now from . . .

Melange

Dessert First

Yesterday there was a fat little package in my mailbox. I was expecting a book that I had won in a giveaway by Romi Hill (the book contains her Tanis shawl pattern); I wasn't expecting the two lovely skeins of yarn she included as a special treat!

Later that day while getting more firewood, another special gift caught my eye:

Unexpected gifts are like dessert – totally unnecessary but oh, so sweet!

Lovin' Handful

Thanks, Kelly, for telling me the way to this ewe's heart. (Even though food is not my taming method of choice, I'm not above using bribes!)  (-;

Speaking of Food, Feast Your Eyes on THIS

This, my friends, was my most excellent breakfast this morning – homemade bread, reduced fat Dubliner cheese, and a garden tomato. That's right; it's January 9, and I just ate the last tomato from our garden.

And for lunch, I had some fresh garden carrots (these are from the rainbow row):

If any of you in colder climes are inclined to tar and feather me at this point, I might have to follow Oreo's example. Ha!

That's it for now from . . .

Daily D

Yesterday morning I was the first one up, as usual. Approaching dawn brightened the cloudless sky. Absorbed in worship, then emails, I didn't notice the fog creeping up the hill on silent feet until it had almost reached the house:

Fog was forecast for the day, but who can properly predict fog? After wrapping us in a close grey blanket, the sun broke through and a polychromatic world revealed itself once again. By evening, when I had to drive Brian to fencing? Total pea soup.

Rinse, repeat. This morning I drove down into that blanket of fog to go to work:

By the time I left work, the fog had lifted again, residual haze creating pastel landscapes painted by a Master. I had to be selfish with the beauty, because there were no good places to pull over and snap photos. Until I got to our lane:

This evening on our way to fencing, we were treated to this:

(Photo courtesy of Brian through the car window.)

We don't get much sun at this latitude (45° 1157' North) at this time of year, but what we get is breathtaking. For my RDA of D, I take a capsule!

That's it for today from . . .

Soup and spots

This morning on my way to work, I had to pull over and snap a couple photos. Too bad I have dust in my lens. :-/  Believe it or not, that's the most "sun" I saw today! The fog layer thickened and enveloped Boulderneigh before I got home, and the pea soup is supposed to continue through tomorrow.

Speaking of work, this week has brought some stories to file under "funny." I need to keep some notes so I don't forget them!

That's it for now from . . .