Tis the Season . . . .

Got snow!  No white mustaches but a lot of flake-filled outerwear and critter hair as light powdery stuff fell throughout the night. 

Twas kinda fun walking to the barn this morning, seeing Bill and Liam's fresh tracks winding through an otherwise untouched white blanket about three inches deep.  

Happily, the new addition to the landscape did not present too much of a problem walking or even pushing the cart filled with hay to the barnyard or even with opening gates and doors.  

That was nice because usually we can count on doubling the time it takes to do almost anything outside.

So far, our shovels haven't gotten too much use because clearing this snow might be done easier with a broom.  

While leading my horses through the powder to their breakfast, I thought about the Schweitzer folks and how thrilled the skiers and boarders are gonna be up there on the hill today. 

I also thought about how much happier our horses will be today, maneuvering around on a softer surface in their corral---as long as they don't take off running or sliding on the hidden sheets of ice beneath the snow. 

Anyway, it's nice to see this pretty change in the outdoors scene this morning.  A sense of the Christmas season has finally come upon us.

Bill and I are also much happier this morning because we had a fire in the stove all night. 

No shivers today!  

The All About Chimneys folks did a wonderful job yesterday figuring out how to install the new parts for the stove. Within minutes of their leaving, some wood and kindling went into the stove for this year's first fire. 

Nice to be warm again.

And, this snow has made someone else happy.  Mr. Liam thinks it's pretty neat stuff---probably a big change from last year when his little puppy self had to work hard not to sink in over his head. 

Now, that he's a big boy, Liam sees the potential for a different kind of play, including how much fun it will be to attack the shovel as the human tries to fling snow. I've noticed that to be a Border Collie trait. 

Unfortunately, the balls will probably have to stay inside in favor of bigger toys that don't get buried and lost in the snow. I'm sure we'll all adjust.

That little light off in the distance is Bill's head lamp, which he wears while taking Liam on his early morning and evening jaunts. 

Might be time to put the rakes away. 

With the cold weather, we've seen a lot more birds at the feeders lately. I love this aspect of winter.

I thought it was pretty cool when I looked at this morning's paper and saw our neighbor Geneva on the front page above the fold.  She (fourth from the left) and her friends were out singing in the community yesterday. 

Finally, I could not resist bringing the force to all readers this morning.

This is my wonderful cousin Rich Aspell from Chicago who surely won the ugly sweater contest at his office Christmas party yesterday. 

Rich is a dentist and a performer of sorts. For Sandpoint folks, he's somewhat of a Sandy Compton of his community, participating frequently at storytelling events. 

Anyway, I liked his sweater.  Good job, Rich. 

Guess that's all for this morning.  I'm kinda anxious to get on with the fun of the first real snow day here on the farm. 

Happy Saturday.  Go, Sounders!  Go, ZAGS! Go, SHS Lady Bulldogs!