Yes, it finally snowed! It is not "normal" for the snow to be this late, but I must say, it is fashionable. Snow makes it substantially brighter, so I am much happier as of late. I did begin to remember, however, that walking in snow is like walking in sand. Much tougher!
I had thought I was far from the winds of Kansas, but I was recently proved wrong. We've had a bit of a "breezy" start to our wintry weather, and due to the prevalence of the Spruce Bark Beetle, Spruce trees have met with a decidedly definitive end. The trees are extremely tall and have very slender builds. They didn't stand a chance against the gusts off the sea. This scene was repeated more often than my legs preferred, as I was required to step over or try to find a path around many more fallen trees than usual. How can I tell which trees were newly fallen? If you look above, the tree that broke has very light wood. If it has been down very long at all, the wood grays and dulls. It's bright and golden if it is fresh, though fairly rotten (how's that for an oxymoron?!).
I often find the Alaskan woods quite unique with mosses hanging from trees with snow clinging to it. It seems a contrast in nature. Not so! We haven't had
that much snow, unfortunately, as the grass is still able to withstand it's weight.
Those Kansas gusts did more than just inconvenience my walking path. Besides the couple of trees that had apparently fallen in the roads and pushed aside by earlier motorists, we discovered we had a tree that was pulled out and leaning towards our neighbors. Fortunately, we (O.K., just Pat) went over and promptly removed the tree from their property and stacked the remaining pieces and burned the slash in our fire-pit. We were thankful that this was the only tree that fell, and it did no damage to us or the neighbors.
Today was the first day I ventured out onto the pond. I've stepped out on it before, but was cautious as I could see very clearly the floor of the pond from the ice. I know in my head that it is frozen solid, and clear ice is the best quality, but it was just too unnerving to walk across. It now has a couple inches of snow covering it, so it seemed much safer! I did check a few places along the way, just to make sure of the ice thickness and found this fascinating flaw an inch or two below me. I was actually looking for frozen, suspended lily pads, but this was also interesting. Below is the view of our place from across our little Walden. (A fascinating side note: we discovered today that our home was the original homestead on the entire lake. I felt a bit proud of our little house!)
And finally, the sun began to set (at about 3:00, here) and throw it's colors across the sky and snow. It was captivating in person, much less so in a photograph. I am anxiously awaiting the arrival of snowshoes (story on that later!), and about three more feet of snow!
In preparation for being inundated with puppy pictures after today, I will start with the most recent photos of us and our "puppies!" Just the other day, after refusing to cuddle with Pat, I jumped in the chair and Bella followed right in. I think Pat felt bad, but what could I do? She was feeling the need for some cuddling and being hormonal, I was her choice! She hasn't completely avoided Pat, but it was a clear preference for me! Have you noticed how big she was? That was an ordeal being in the chair with her. I didn't win in the surface area fight. She was much more comfy than I.
Lest you think Rowdy doesn't get much attention, he gets lots of lovin' in that chair. Especially when our friend, Dean comes over! I think Rowdy gets really excited to see Dean, because he knows he'll get some good cuddle time!
So, for now, this is all. We have one little yellow female who has made her presence known, and many more to come. The day is just beginning and the puppy pictures will thus commence, though I'll try to postpone too many until they become much cuter in a couple weeks!
