Crueller than I thought it was going to be...

Poor little tulips got totally covered in our snow storm this afternoon.  Did I mention that I am really ready for winter to be done??

Mother Nature is so cruel

I guess I was premature in thinking that spring was springing...more snow today.  So ready for winter to be gone!! 

The fruits of his labors

This is always the most fun part of shearing, seeing what this year's "crop" looks like.  What do you think?

Bah bah black sheep have you any wool?

Yes sir, yes sir one bag full.  And it's got great crimp to it!

Kayla

Kayla has a beautiful black fleece.  He will be taking it to the show in Oregon in June, so watch out.

Time for a haircut

It's shearing day at Marietta Shetlands.  Five down and five to go. 

Spring is springing

At last. 

New wheels...

Ever since my fall last October I have been using my old standard walker, the kind that really isn't designed for outside walking, but, hey, life happens.

It has become clear to me that my knee has become pretty unstable (and taking the time off from work right now to get it replaced is out of the question) and going it with just one cane was probably bot safe for me anymore.  So I started looking at "rollators" - four wheeled walkers designed to go over hill and dale. 

Sadly they are not covered by insurance and this was a little bit more $$ than I was thinking (plus I got it from a local store - $125 more than online!!!).  I was able to get them to come down $50 in price - The Shepherd and I like to buy local when ever we can - so as the old saying goes, I bit the bullet and bought it.  Then are some challenges ... it weighs about 18 lbs,  getting it in and out of the trunk, and up and down our back steps is going to take some work, but I like it and I hope it will help me to be more mobile too.

She needs a name - right now I'm thinking Maybelle...

Happy Valentine's Day

My friend Mary Ellen snapped this wonderful picture last week up in Vancouver - she didn't see the heart in the icy water until she got back home and downloaded her pictures.  What a wonderful gift from Mother Nature.  

By the way, Mary Ellen writes two newsletters - you can read them on FaceBook - or get them delivered to your email inbox  - no matter how busy I am, I always stop to read what she sends.  

Follow Pet Tips 'n' Tales - always a happy ending
https://www.facebook.com/PetTipsandTales

 

Follow Angel Scribe - always something good to think about
https://www.facebook.com/AngelScribe1111

 

Do you like Valentine's day?  When I was a kid, it seemed like I would always get those Valentines with a hippo or an elephant on them :-(     

 

It is Random Acts of Kindness Week.  Do something nice for someone, it will make you smile.  

Gracie's romp in the snow

 Hello effury body and effury kitty - 

I've been spending a whole lotta time on the foot of Mummy's bed - I really like having her home all day long - she just lets me be and is always there for me to give a snuggle to.

This snow was all the way up to the bottom of my skirts.  Yikes!












 Now what do I do? 

The Shepherd said that he could see everywhere that Gracie went out side - one place was into the bamboo.  We figure she was looking for burdies in there. 

A couple more wintery pictures

 This maple looks like it's been dipped in plastic.  All told, we were snowed or iced in for a full week.  First time that's happened in years.  And we didn't really get as much snow as we've had in the past, but it would snow, then rain, so everything was like a skating rink

I like the ice hanging off the bell. 

Ever the optimist, before our witch hazel got hammered by the northeaster last week.  

And then it really started to snow.

Gracie was going outside, but it was snowing so hard, you can see her skid marks as she ran back into the house...

The Shepherd worked tirelessly to keep a clear path between the house and the barn.

"Hey, you - make it stop snowing.  My water is frozen"

Jefferson and Buddy didn't think much of the snow. 

The ice storm nearly broke the limbs off our Cedrus deodara

But once it warmed up "a little" The Shepherd
was able to knock some of the ice off.  Luckily it didn't damage the branches.

After this one last hurrah, where we got another 3 or 4 inches of snow, the wind switched from north to south, and the temps just climbed about a degree an hour from mid 20's to almost 45 degrees in about 24 hours.  The snow just seemed to disappear almost over night. 

Thank goodness! 

An Ice Day

Well, we've taken a page out of the Portland weather book today.  Ice every where and as you can see , our river birch is caressing my car, which looks like it is beginning to lose its ice cube look .. must be warming up a little.  No difference to me,  I'm not going anywhere today.  Got this good book on my Kindle and maybe some popcorn and hot chocolate...

Snow day

I should say. another snow day.  This is getting old.