Tuesday, November 24, 2015

Tea and snow

During last summer's long hot days, we often longed for snow and looked forward to the first snow fall. Today we got it.

Yesterday Don split a good-sized stack of firewood, which he and Younger Daughter stacked on the porch.


A flock of quail took over the driveway.


Today it's snowed lightly since before dawn. Not much by way of accumulation, but very pretty.


I kept the camera handy when I let the chickens out of the coop early this morning. This is because it's always funny to watch the birdies with their first snowfall. Most of our flock was born in June so they've never seen the white stuff.


The treated the snow with the deepest of suspicion and refused to venture forth.



An hour later, one or two brave ones tiptoed outside...



...but most stayed huddled under their coop awning, bewildered by what all this white stuff was.



I caught this young calf just ... staring, fascinated. He's never seen snow either.


Patient Matilda, upon being released from the barn, simply stood and looked. Another winter, she's doubtless thinking.


A small flock of turkeys minced by. Be careful, guys. Thanksgiving is near.


The quail we saw yesterday left a maze of dainty complex tracks.


Younger Daughter decided to go walking, with tea. Tea and snow. No finer combination, she concluded.



The surrounding area looked very picturesque.




You can see just the very tip of our house.


Tea. Yes, a cup of tea sounds like a dandy idea for the first snowfall of the season.

8 comments:

  1. Wow, those are some chubby, well-fed looking quail! Patrice, we love your photos. You are becoming quite the "shutter-bug"! You bring much happiness to our lives. Thank you. --Fred & Deb in AZ

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  2. I'm glad to see Don using hearing protection with the log splitter - it is important to use protective equipment to protect yourself.

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  3. We can see snow on the upper ridge line across the river, and expect to wake up to white any morning now.

    It's picture postcard beautiful here when it snows.

    A. McSp

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  4. Very nice post.

    Carl In the UP (great white north)

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  5. just had a thought for you guys, you bought that new tractor, well did you know that you can buy a generator that runs off off the PTO of your tractor, it is more reasonably priced and they make the one i looked at was 10,000. watt which should run your well and or part of your house hold, Northern tool had them a few years ago. hope this helps, love you site

    Mike and Shirley in NM

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  6. It is amazing how Winter takes on a life of its own. We spend hours each day accommodating it. Just this morning it was lots of snow shoveling (actually snow scooping), bringing in a couple wheel barrel loads of firewood. brushing off the car, putting on tire chains. On the positive side, I believe meeting these challenges builds character and good work ethnic. OK, I might be the exception. Another benefit is that being miles from stores, you learn to 'go to war with what you've got.'

    Happy Thanksgiving folks.

    Montana Guy

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  7. Ice Cream / SNOW Ice Cream, mmm mmm mmm! I'm sorry, but never having owned a tractor, what is a PTO? TIA

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    Replies
    1. Power Take Off. It's a powerful spinning rod at the tail end of a tractor that powers various attachments such as balers or mowers. It can be harnessed for any number of useful purposes including, as mentioned, a type of generator.

      - Patrice

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