Rebel Sun

A cast-iron lid covers the sky - but the sun won't be contained, and boils through at the edge, bubbling light spilling over the land.

Late Afternoon - Winter

Zander in the Snow

More Snow

I thought I should find my sheep, since the snow is deeper than they are tall. When I couldn't find a horse path to follow the snow was past my knees. My boots aren't. When I stopped and turned I ran into Zander, who was following my path. The sheep were all at the bottom of the hill with the round bale of hay, and although they were looking longingly up in hopes I had grain, they seemed in good health and were all above the snow.

The chickens really didn't know what to do with themselves.

The car was almost invisible in the snow. My painter called to say he wouldn't be here because he couldn't find his truck.

The Peafowl wanted nothing to do with this day, deciding it was better to stay in the tree.

I took the quad down the hill - woo hoo! I love my quad. Getting back up proved more problematic than going down, but I got it up and parked, and myself inside, although cold, tired, and very, very wet. It rained most of the time I was out.

Snow Regeneration

There is a strange snow regeneration project going on here. It snows, it warms up, the snow melts down some. Then overnight it renews, and by morning doubles in depth. The dogs didn't quite know what to do with themselves this morning when confronted with a bank of snow to wade through.

The Snow Continues...

The quad doubles as a portable feeder. Note the chickens taking shelter under the shelf. Everyone loves hay.

The first surprise - a tree came down across the road. Fortunately there is just enough room between the trees for the quad to sneak through - even with a load of hay.

A small tree down across the electric fence. Other trees down in the background.

And yet more trees overwhelmed by the heavy snow. We've had an accumulation of 6-10 inches, and it is now above freezing (but still snowing). The snow sticks to everything and weighs a ton.

One of the Alpaca expressing his displeasure.

A Snowy Day

The snows did come, making the world soft, muted and even more beautiful than usual. I spent the morning watching the beauty, sipping coffee. I fed everyone well last night so I could take my time.

Fences need checking because our snow is so wet it often breaks branches or builds up and grounds out the fence. The chickens are, as always in the snow, not amused.

In the Middle

I woke to rain, which managed to surprise me, although rain is the normal state of weather here in January. A friend who lives 4 miles away and 200 feet higher called to say he had snow. It wasn't even raining here then. When I went out to feed I went up to the top of the hill to see what I could see.

I seemed to be in the eye of the storm. There were clouds all around, as I sat in sunshine.

Whatever direction I looked clouds hovered on the edges.

Dark clouds loomed to the east, the direction snow was reported.

The northern hills already had a coating of snow.

The window of sunshine didn't last, but I enjoyed it while it was here. It is now snowing, and the snow is accumulating. It should be beautiful in the morning, a world of soft white.

Sunset Supreme

I opened the front door to this wonderful sight

I grabbed the camera and walked down to where I have a clearer view of Mt. Rainier. I don't usually see a lot of sunsets, but this one was spectacular.

Mt Rainier seemed to glow with it's own pink light.

St Helens stands out against the lovely pink clouds.

As I walked back to the house another part of the sky caught my attention

Thank you Universe for the glorious sky, and this beautiful place.

The Crew

On a farm one takes any assistance offered.

Winter Patterns

Mountain Morning Magic

I love this place. I opened the door to let the dogs out and stood for a moment in awe. It is cloudy today, a heavy layer of dark grey. However, all around the edges it is bright, outlining the mountains. As it is winter and the leaves are off the trees I have a 180* view of dark blue mountains against a background of light blue-grey and white. Moments of wonder.

Amazing Morning

New Year Musings

What a wonderful day. It's pretty warm, mostly sunny, and very, very windy. Refreshingly windy, and that strong wind has dried out ground that's been wet since the first rains. I was sitting on the quad at back of the muddy filly field (feeding the sheep in the next field), just listening to the wind and trees and birds - the stories they tell! Jessie, 3 yr old filly, came up to see if I had better food than I gave them. She checked everything out, and then reached out and snuffled my face, hung with me for a moment, and then went back to her food. Kissed by a pony.

Ah winter. I need to spend more time riding the ponies. It was too lovely today, so I decided to take Trojan (17 yr old Morgan gelding) out for a spin. It was a challenge from the start, he didn't want to leave the hay and his friends, wasn't so sure about the wind, the bridle, the saddle...didn't want to stand, yada yada yada. It was an interesting ride. Nothing like a petulant pony to keep you on your toes while staying grounded. I'm practicing using energy to keep us both calm, centered, and on track, and it's an exciting ride. We did get into some gaits I haven't experienced before. I can't wait to be better rider and actually ask for these things :).