And So It Continues………..

 

 

                                                  To Snow…

But we did manage to get two beautiful days without any white stuff falling from the sky. And then the snow started falling yet again.

(Photo taken of our paddocks and barn, at noon on Thursday)

(The lower paddock feeding/watering station is working out well and is very convenient for me)

(Though I do feel bad that they get snowed on while eating. Perhaps I can get a lean-to shelter built for them down there next summer, because I think this feeding/watering station is going to be a traditional winter situation)

 

But 2 days was not enough time for me to fix the chicken coop netting and fencing.

(Thankfully I’ve not seen any hawks around. And the chickens only seem to mind that their cozy foot-warming straw carpet is getting covered up by cold snow again)

(But my girls did come out to say hello to me and ask for treats)

(The wild birds are enjoying the two feeding stations beside our our house and providing us with amusing entertainment. photos taken from my bedroom window at 9am on Thursday before I refilled the bird feeders) 

(There’s a bird house feeder underneath that snow laden branch, with a hanging wooden platform below it, that isn’t hanging anymore, due to the heavy snow weight of that branch)

And 2 days was not enough time for me to fix the leaky roof or finish my Christmas shopping, or put up Christmas lights on the trees that line our driveway.

(I did manage to put some lit greenery around our front door)

 

But I need to keep things simple (and safe) for myself with Ranchman John not here to help. I sure do miss my holiday outside lights, but traipsing around in 2 foot deep snow trying to wrap electric lights on trees doesn’t sound very safe. My kidlets and animals need me and I won’t be much help if I end up with a broken leg.

(And Apache would miss her lunchtime carrot)

 

Speaking of our driveway, someone in a black pickup truck with a snowplow on the front came through our neighborhood on Tuesday after our big snow storm blizzard and cleared our mile long main road out to the county road.

(Photo taken from our garage looking down our driveway towards our neighborhood. You can’t see where the road was cleared anymore because the new snow has filled it in. It was nice while it lasted, if only for two days. sigh.)

I’ve never seen this truck before so I have no idea who they are, but I wish I could thank them. They did end up pushing about a 2 foot mini mountain of snow in front of the entrance to our driveway, but it was easy to motor over in my truck. Having the roadway out to the county road cleared was a real blessing. It’s nice to know there are such kind and generous folks still out there.

(Our house. Photo taken from the end of our driveway)

 

(Jen in our driveway. Photo taken at noon on Thursday)

This new snow storm is predicted to dump another 8”-12” of snow on us. Looks like we’ll definitely be having a White Christmas!

(Jen wanted to show you all one of the icicles hanging off of our house. This is one of the reasons our roof is leaking. The canales that drain water from our southwestern pueblo-style flat roof are blocked by ice)

But on good note, with this new snowstorm, the kidlets and I have plenty of time to enjoy our holiday baking, which includes peanut butter kiss cookies, chocolate chip cookies and chocolate covered pretzels (for the neighbors’ gifts). I can already feel my pants getting tighter.

Last night was really wonderful because my dear friend Suzanne invited us all over for the afternoon/evening. Jen had a Musik lesson with her friend, C, Suz’s daughter, while I washed several loads of laundry (yeah, our washing machine is still dead), and Jax and Jem hung out and filmed home movies with their buddy, C, Suz’s son. Then we all watched the movie TANGLED (I love Maximus!) and enjoyed a Spaghetti dinner. I was so appreciative to be able to wash our dirty clothes close to home while spending time with friends, instead of having to drive down into the city of Albuquerque to hang out for hours in a laundromat.  It was a really nice evening and a break from all of the work here at home, and I even managed to do a little bit of Christmas/Grocery shopping afterwards. Perfect timing with this new snow storm that arrived this morning.

(Jen in our backyard)

On another positive note, I found out that my photo of Matt and Prince from the Hearts for Horses event was used for an article in one of our local newspapers, called The Edgewood Independent. In fact the article is on the front page of the newspaper!

Check it out!:  The Independent 

Dobbie: “Would you hurry up with the photo-taking, please? I’m getting cold down here.”

Yep. It looks like we’ll be having a very White Christmas here at the Laughing Orca Ranch!