Marching On

What? What's this? Not more snow. I had plans today.

Fluffy Joe, what the heck did you let happen? Your supposed to breathe on this stuff and make it disappear. Now what am I going to do?

Well, I'm glad I got my pots done this weekend. Too bad I can't see my new blue pansies.

But I guess I'll wait to do up my window boxes.

I wasn't sure I wanted to put these hyacinths in the window boxes after all. I didn't buy enough and if my spring is going to keep doing this, I'll just take them inside where I'll be able to smell them. Golly, glad I procrastinated again.

You know, I know your thinking I was being naughty spending money on potted bulbs, I oughta by bones huh. But they really weren't much more than what I paid for the bulbs this last fall. I get so tempted in the stores. I don't buy a daily latte .... Fluff, with the way you smell bud, I need every fragrant flower I can find.

Look at the back yard Fluff! I was going to weed and work on my log wall bed and Cherry Tree Hill.

Hey, I wonder if any of my Dear Readers remember this bed from Propagating, The Orange Tractor Rides Again, to the Rescue!, Arbor Bed, The Promise of Renewal, when I totally dug up this fall for a thorough revamping? I have some stuff already in, stuff I had divided up that came from out of here and some from other places. I will be putting more things in as time goes on and the soil reappears! I can't wait to see it in it's many stages. I would appreciate you not lying on anything Fluff.

These are the same mini daffs that Bet took a picture of for my banner the other day. Big diff for the daffs huh?!

Ahh, the pond side of Cherry Tree Hill, behind me to my right are my two new little cherry trees, the big tree I am looking at is the tree that produces most all of our cherries for now. Bet and I are excited because both little trees have buds on them, the first few years of a trees life are kind tenuous, especially around here, huh Fluff. Oh and yes, my girls can do all that and make a cherry pie, fresh from the trees!

The back side of our house, boy Fluff, there's a lot of changes that will happen in this scene in the next couple of months huh bud?

Hey, Fluff check it out the duck pen, waiting to be finished. Between areoplane conferences, early season sheep shearing, helping moving a friend's pawn shop, and this sort of weather, the pen is in a holding pattern, but soon, soon and then buddy, you can come down here and stare at them all day.

Fluff, those sheep do not look very thrilled with this snow. But they like it better than the wind and rain, you understand doncha bud, the sort of weather that makes you go up on my porch and get it all wet and smelly.

Well I don't think the peas are going to get much sun in there today! Fluff, remind me to water them Wednesday and get their beds all ready, 'cause they'll need to be in their permanent home real soon. I wonder if my Dear Reader remembers that the day I put my pea seeds to soak and then ran off to town, it snowed then too. So the next day instead of planting my soaked peas I made a terrarium instead.

The garlic is looking nice, even in the snow. I have some great pictures of my different garlic beds that I took yesterday, when there was dirt in the picture.

Here are the duck doors, waiting to be put on the front of the duck pen that isn't there yet. But soon, soon.

Well I tell you Fluff, this is good news indeed! I thought for sure that my mums that I tucked behind the chicken coop were going to be goners after the super cold we had earlier. See the blue-green growth in the center of the stems? And yes Fluff, I saw where you knocked two of them over when you went chasing after something, I will pretend that it was something after my chickens and I forgive you. Just don't let me catch you being so careless again, and it better well not have been a cat you were chasin' buddy.

Well that was a long way around to the barn to get new blocks for the suet feeders. But the little birdies are all set for freeloading today. I sure wish I had a better camera, Fluff, you think I could save my pennies and buy myself one for my birthday?

Hey you know what Fluffy, I bet a couple of my Dear Readers are thinkin' I forgot that I was supposed to do Kathy's list of questions, that's what bloggers call a meme, a list of sorta random, sorta personal questions. But I sure didn't forget Fluff, I was just wanting to take a walk with you in the snow to look at everything, enjoy the snow, maybe one last time.

1. What are you wearing now? Check it out, my uniform.

2. What is my biggest fear? Fearless. Even the stuff that makes me sweat, it can be conquered. No fear.

3. Worst subject in school? Deportment. "Miss Barker, are you talking again?" "Yes ma am."

4. Last person hugged? Terry, my good friend and neighbor for twenty-three years. I smooch and pat my family, hugs I save for crisis.

5. Last web sites visited? Group Health for my lab results (most are in, I'll tell you about them tomorrow).

6. What is the last item you bought? Dove & Quail food and a case of suet blocks.

7. If you could go anywhere in the world, where would you go? Everywhere, why stop at just one place? As soon as I think of a place that would be my one choice I think of another, and another, then another and then...

8. If you woke up tomorrow and were the opposite sex what is the first thing you would do and why? Pee for a half an hour then go to work. Isn't that what ya'll do?

9. Has a celebrity ever influenced my own hairstyle? Nope. They look to me for advice.

10. Most embarrassing moment? This post is already too long for some people. 'Cept they have given up reading here, but nah, I'll tell you all about it this week, planned to anyway. No, no hints even. Sheesh, you have the patience of a gnat, you might want to work on that.

11. Last movie I watched? In the theater, New In Town. On Dirt's home screen, Cold Comfort Farm, in ten minutes segments from you tube to my television screen via the laptop. Both were well timed, much needed comedic relief.

12. If I had a whole day to myself with no work, commitments, or interruptions, what would I do? Am I being forbidden to "work" or visit? Then I would read, think and pray alternating and in random order.

13. If I had a choice of places to be, where would I be? Heaven, not a moment's hesitation.

Snow, Snow, Snow, Snow

Okay not really that much but enough to brighten the heck outa my spirits.

Looking forward to cocoa tomorrow instead of coffee.

Chose coffee this morning because Dirt was heading us into town. (Which by the way did not have snow, a few errant flakes but not like what we had, that is unusual)

Coffee can be grabbed and go, or drank while getting ready and picking things up.

Cocoa not so soa (feeble attempt at rhyme, it worked in my head) but you get it right? You must sit with cocoa, unless of course it is in a thermos and your drinking it while doing winter sports, ice skating, sledding, skiing.

Tomorrow morning Bet and I have a cocoa date, we'll let Anna come too but she isn't going to make us drink her powdered inferior stuff (although she prefers it, like macaroni out of a box).

I am going to have melted chocolate.

See you shortly after that with pics and a recount of Lady Amber and her antics in the snow last night with the blind lady "looking" for her.

Tomorrow noonish then?

Till then Dear Reader I am meditating on: 2 Corinthians 4:3-4 "But even if our gospel is veiled it is veiled to those who are perishing, whose minds the god of this age has blinded, who do not believe, lest the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine upon them."

Snow, It Is So Cool

Lets see a hot day in July do that!

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(Please don't get me wrong, I love hot days in July, I love the hay that they bring in and the beautiful flowers and healthful vegetables that they grow and ripen. I love the beautiful water that it beams on, so many things I can't begin to describe. My point is that the sun could never do this.)

The Beauty and the Beast

The beautiful, placid, rest-giving, winter scene created by our gracious Heavenly Father.

The tenacious, lawn ruining, equipment buggering, pea pod pilfering beast created by our gracious Heavenly Father.

Squeeky Snow

Our Snowman welcomes you back to our continuing Snowfest.

Yes, this is even after it snowed some more, but remember, this is a hayfield on a hill so what snow didn't blow off got lost in the hay stubble. But we have enough for a good sledding day. In the PNW lowlands you take what you get and get out and have fun.

The bummer of taking a spill. And no one seems to care.

Trudging up the hill again. The beauty of a short down hill run is the short up hill climb.

Michelle, my second oldest, came out to play with us while her husband was working, even though she was not feeling her best and had shopping left to do, you make hay while the sun shines and you sled while the snow lies.

And Bet generously gave up her snow pants and is toughing it out in jeans, luckily today the snow isn't the typical soggy PNW snow we usually have. (Right now it is squeeky like unaged cheese.)

Anna tries the whole upright thing and is getting it pretty quick.

Sometimes it is fun to go down the old fashioned way, cross legged, on a saucer, backwards.

But now Bet has grabbed the sled and trudges back up the hill.

And back up the hill.

And back up the hill.

To go back down the hill.

But then someone swipes the sled back again and you're left with the saucer.

Chelle really got into the whole stand on the sled thing.

But then she got distracted by Fluffy trekking across the not so solid pond.

We all watched and held our breath as our favorite "bear" crossed the pond.

Wilford's younger brother is not into oatmeal, (note what he is holding).

But Dear Reader, I know what your sitting around patiently waiting for...

More spills and shenanigans by Lanny!

The girls could do the whole "stand up pretend you're a snow boarder" thing, so I think I can to!

And I did pretty stinking good, if I may say so myself!

Not only did I stay up, I acquired a little finesse too.

Well sometimes. Other times I found myself in various positions not on the sled.

But it is all good and too much fun. Unfortunately, I did have to head back to the farmhouse to deal with my frozen fuchsias, I'll tell you all about them in another blog, (when I'm sick of playing and writing about the snow, but then that might be when I move to North Dakota and live there for ten years!)

I had so much fun that even when I was moving plants around in the laundry house, did a few loads of laundry, I just couldn't resist. The untouched snow in the backyard called me...

and I succumbed to the snow angel in me.

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What do you think? Falling backwards in skinny snow was a little scary considering my age, but I counted to three and let go. Yes, the landing was a little hard but not as hard as I thought it was going to be, or maybe the thrill of making the perfect snow angel took the pain away!

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My girls spied me from the dining room and the look on their faces told me they thought I was slightly insane. I was in my shirt sleeves, had just dashed from the laundry house in the middle of working on the plants and laundry, carefully walked backwards into the middle of the backyard and fell straight back.

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After I bounced back up from creating the perfect snow angel, I ran in and upstairs and took the pic from my second story window.

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I love it when it snows! The twenty degree weather is tough on my garden, I seem to be cleaning up snow issues constantly, but oh well! I love it when it snows and freezes!

Thanks for stopping by and indulging me in my Snowfest.

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Dear reader, I hope you cut loose today and fell backwards into your world!