Posts from the ‘Pets’ category

Snow Status

We’ve had a week of melting with some gray skies, some slushy-snow-rain squalls and today beautiful sunshine and blue sky!

A perfect day for a parlay in the snow…

… or a walk!

We’ve been having fun being out despite the occasional challenges of ice and slush. It is supposed to get colder with more snow on the way. I will be happy to have a few fresh inches … hopefully not a major amount again – just enough to freshen up our paths and cover the icy spots. That is the order I put in … we’ll see what we get!

Another round of Winter: part 1

We’ve had a couple of forecast winter storms that didn’t happen.

But earlier this week, the NOAA sounded very certain of a Friday through Monday double threat:

My supplies were stocked up so no last minute run to town…

… and the snow started a bit earlier than forecast. Typically weather events are late. But, not only did the snow start early, it was only 11F and it was coming down like it meant it.

We woke up to 9 inches of new snow and it was still snowing.

I did some test runs with the snow thrower. The snow was so light and fluffy that it threw fine, but still a lot of snow which required going very slow. I cleared the walk and about 10 feet in front of the garage and motorhome …in an hour. Typically, I can clear most of the driveway in an hour, the walk in 15 minutes and in front of the motorhome in another 20.

I multiplied and added extra rest breaks and knew I would be fortunate if I could clear by end of the day. Plus, I needed to clear the roof vents and “rake” the roof edges where ice dams were forming. And walks with Bear!

I called (actually emailed) for reinforcements…

Thank you neighbor Mike! Mike and the mighty backhoe cleared the driveway.

I managed the roof and enough snowshoe trails to let us walk in the woods.

Auggie was in and out and finally had to spend some time removing ice balls from between his toes.

I’m writing this at 7:20 p.m. and both Bear and Auggie have gone to bed! I am about to follow – no kidding! Working outside in the cold and snow … I am beat.

Plus we need to rest up for part 2 starting tomorrow afternoon…

YIKES!

Video: Morning snowshoe walk

A video! I took this – video at the end – earlier this week before we had a bit of a melt. As noted previously, video is not my favorite thing … I don’t do it well and struggle with editing … primarily because I haven’t spent time to learn. But also because I tend to like the subtle story telling of still photos.

However, some of the action stuff is fun – particularly Auggie, who is often like a “speeding bullet” and also very vocal … about everything!

The people I know, who do some video and might assist, all use iMovie on Apple operating systems. My only Apple device is my phone. I intended to use some of my Christmas holiday break to work through some tutorials and negotiate a bit of the video editing learning curve but kept putting it off and mission NOT accomplished

But, this morning, I did a search for “iMovie for Windows” and found a product that is supposed to be close-ish as in ease of use and powerful features.

Yea!

A promise of 30 minutes. A fun looking interface. I was all in.

I watched a quick tutorial and added my video. And then … AND THEN … it didn’t need editing! I was thinking that there were points where I turned or stumbled or talked baby talk that I wanted to edit out, but it turned out that I was ok with the entire thing. Maybe that is a good first try. The software does seem easy to use. I have some other videos that I KNOW need editing so I’ll take a whack at them.

But meanwhile…nearly 5 minutes of Bear, Auggie and I tromping through the snowy woods. I don’t want to oversell this – it is a simple walk :) !!

One of the stars after we “wrapped” filming…

… just hanging out!

And the other star … lying low.

More snow

Sunday night and Monday morning it snowed to the tune of 10 inches of fresh, powdery snow.

The big ‘shoes came out to make plenty of walk paths for Bear, Auggie and me … and because I LOVE to snowshoe!

Auggie uses the paths, but also the snowless bits around the house and garage.

Bear used a path out to Beardog Point.

I also stomped down an area for the Beardog watch.

It has been a busy couple of days clearing snow, making the paths and generally enjoying the new snow. Temperatures have been warmer … in the mid-20’s F daytime.

Another arctic front has hit this evening and we are to be very cold again until the weekend.

St. Nick has come and gone, but even through clouds, the nearly full moon “on the breast of the new fallen snow, gave a luster of midday to objects below”!

Back Ends

The weather has been all over the place!

Cold.

Snow.

VERY cold.

Warm-ish.

Cold.

And Work: intense-ish.

Christmas Prep: no sweets :( BUT, lots of crackers to go with cheese to go with smoked salmon – YEA!

Meanwhile…

A morning march in the no snow zone.

Beardog point.

Back ends.

Our Thanksgiving Day

I don’t know why Auggie is giving me the evil eye. He had a beautiful sun spot and the doors open to a beautiful day: 45F with sun and blue skies. I had the windows open while cooking. It didn’t feel as holiday-like as it does when it is cold-cloudy-snowy, but no complaints from us!

Cranberry Chutney was first on the agenda – yes 6:45 a.m. in the dark of the morning … so it had time to meld all the flavors.

I made a new recipe: leek bread pudding, in place of dressing. I used my own sourdough for the bread – this turned out to be my favorite side dish.

The bird!!!

A full plate: turkey and mashed potatoes with gravy, cranberry chutney, green beans in mushroom gravy with a bread crumb/onion/parmesan top crust, steamed carrots and the leek bread pudding.

A few spoons of pumpkin spice ice cream rounded out the meal.

Bear and Auggie had some turkey with just a wee-little bit of gravy.

I believe we were all very thankful for the gorgeous day, the delicious food and a relaxing day together.

I was very thankful to get this last load of dishes done – I think that was about the 8th sinkful of the day.

Our Thanksgiving Day.