Warm Winter Landscape (for a change)
Hello all! We’ve had some gorgeous weather here the last couple of weeks. Such a change from the brutal chill during the holidays. I mean, temps have gotten into the upper 50’s and 60’s on some days. I know winter isn’t over but it’s nice to have a break from those heavy snow days.
For me, this time of year is usually filled with paperwork, scheduling weddings and commercial shoots for the year, and just basic business organization. This busy work does excite me for what’s in store for the upcoming year but unfortunately it gets in the way of shooting personal work. *Sigh*…Alas, it must be done.
Anyway, here is a image from one of my walks along the river during this beautiful spell of warm weather. I love the sliver of the moon framed in the bare branches. Nature walks do the body and mind a whole lotta good. 🙂
Have a great weekend friends!
Plenty to Eat
The grass has popped back up now that the heavy snow has either melted or blown away. We have to watch the grass carefully and determine if we need to feed the cows and horses with a bale of hay. We have plenty of grass for them to graze upon to fill up their bellies but when it’s hard for them to get to it, we roll out a bale of hay.
Anyway, I thought this was a neat perspective while I was sitting by the fence watching the horses.
Have a great weekend my friends!
Crow in the Mist
On my peaceful walk yesterday morning, the quiet was occasionally interrupted by this crow perched high on a cottonwood limb. It took me a while to locate him. Pretty spooky, eh?
A Snowy Walk Through Fog and Mist
It’s no secret that one of my favorite weather events is the misty, dewy fog that hangs heavy in the air some mornings during the fall and winter months.
The clouds dusted us with snow yesterday so there was just an inch or two on the ground this morning when I awoke. I rolled out of bed, got right into my coveralls and grabbed a camera for a wander to the meadows.
It was so still and quiet. All I could hear was the swish of my clothes and the crunch of ice under my boots.
It looked like a different world. And it wasn’t even that cold. Just peaceful.
The girls were all there and greeted me from a distance. They are grateful, as am I, that the snow over the holidays has mostly melted and that this little bit hasn’t covered the grass much.
The fog lifted late morning and the sun is melting the snow this afternoon. The winter cycle continues….
Zero Degree Ranching
On my Facebook page earlier this week, I wrote that the girls were just plain ungrateful. I risked my life to drive through the deep snow to give them cake because Patrick was driving snow plow ’til all hours of the day and night. It was up to me to feed them. Well, the ATV got high centered in a snow drift. I was so very stuck.
The cows stared at me like I was nuts. They wouldn’t come eat the cake I put out for them and I was so frustrated! It’s like their brains were frozen. I don’t doubt it because every bit of me was frozen too. I cried. And I mean ugly cried. I hiked back the the house and stayed in the rest of the day. Patrick got home that night and dug the ranger out of the snowbank and got it back to the barn. He wasn’t mad at all thank goodness. It isn’t the first time he’s had to dig an ATV out of the snow.
The snow was just too deep in the meadows for me to get anything done on my own. So the next day, I brought reinforcements.
They came running this time….
…because my big strong man came to the rescue.
Check out our new bale feeder! This winter, instead of pushing these huge bales with our big strong arms, we have a feeder that hooks onto the ranger or the truck and unrolls the bale as we drive through the snow. No more faceplants in the snow-drenched hay for me!
This was our first time using it.
The girls were pleased (and so were we).
We don’t have a tractor and don’t really want the expense of one. While convenient, tractors are expensive to purchase and the upkeep can be pricey as well. We are content with out little manual bale feeder.
I hope you all had a happy holiday season! This was a tough one for me but I got through it.
The snow is still thick on the ground but I do see drips coming off the roof. I think we may melt soon. 🙂 We are up in the 20’s today and it feels downright balmy! I may go out in short sleeves in a bit to get some vitamin D.
ttfn (ta ta for now),
Leah
Uprooted Magnolia 
3 comments