Slight Detour: Saturday Slight Wet, White

This scene from Pasture No. 1 looks very different this morning from what I saw yesterday afternoon before the snow began.

We've had a significant dump overnight, a somewhat wet one at that. Happily, Bill and I have been out doing some snow management and chores.

I don't like wet snow, but when I can still drive my cart full of hay through about four inches of new snow, I'm not complaining.

While I tended to the early morning barn chores of feeding, turning out horses and cleaning stalls, Bridie and Sunny watched from the hay area and Bill blew snow outside.

All went well, even if the joints were creaking a little more than usual this morning.

The forecast calls for snow all day and maybe even rain later in the day, so we could have a mess before it's over.

"Welcome to winter," I said to Bill after returning to the house, adding a postscript that we are fortunate as we have not lost our home or our lives like more than 50 did overnight in the Midwest tornadoes.

So often we count our blessings, as animals and humans are weathering this storm just fine.

There's winter to be seen at my friend Connie's home in Hope and very possibly lots of snowshoe tracks.

Here's her latest blog post.

https://retiredmtnlady.blogspot.com/

I saw the meme below on Twitter yesterday and, for some mysterious reason, it struck a chord.

I sat in back seat of the pickup Debbie the other day when the old Loves and young Loves went to the Christmas tree patch.

When we had picked out our tree and were ready to leave, I was having the most frustrating time trying to get my seat belt to load into its slot.

Debbie kindly just looked at me as I struggled and eventually succeeded. I know what she was thinking cuz I was thinking something similar, based on a story I read several years ago by Pat McManus.

For some reason Pat thought that seatbelt-managing difficulty signaled one of the signs of old age. The longer it takes to get that belt jammed in to where it belongs the closer to senility you are getting----at least, he implied that.

Well, I don't think I'm THERE yet, and I did have an excuse.

Most people will probably agree that back seat seat belts almost always present a challenge, and when you seldom sit in the back, there's a learning curve to the task of buckling up.

Sometimes I give up really quickly and just pretend that my belt is buckled.

Usually that's when two other humans of comparable size are sitting and stuffed in the back with me, and there's no way they can move into position to check out my infraction----especially the one nearest who gets to sit on the hump.

The fact that I succeeded the other day says I've got more brain and dexterity withering to go before they can deem me a senile passenger.

Happily, the good part is that scenes, like mentioned in the meme below, usually happen when we're driving solo. Only God and we know that we turned the wrong knob.

Doggies had a great time playing in the snow yesterday afternoon. Well, actually, Liam chewed on a chunk of fire wood in the snow while Bridie and Foster raced around and did doggie wrestling with each other.

I'm so happy that we have been able to use the hay field so that Bridie can run loose without any need for us to worry.

As the snow builds up, I'm sure these opportunities will be limited, but yesterday was great fun for me and the dogs.

Yesterday I watched this little pine squirrel get chased away from the feeder by a member of the town squirrel family.

I guess it answered my question about squirrels preferring their own kind

This one watched the others from a safe perch in the poplar tree while I watched from the window.

This house on North Kootenai Road just a block or two off HWY 200 wins my prize so far for the best Christmas decorations.

I haven't taken any tours to survey other possibilities, but having driven by this place two or three times during the past few days, I can say that the sight makes me happy.

The owner has a nice imagination and, without being overly ostentations, has created a scene which warms the heart and includes a tasteful and attractive array of Christmas decorating essentials.

In graphic arts, one of the cardinal rules states "All display is no display. In this case, the yard area is busy but busy in a pleasant and joyful way.

So, this gets the prize so far in my wanderings. As the season goes on, if I see more displays that stir my emotions, I'll snap a photo and post.