Fading Light

The two photos below were taken seconds apart.

Yesterdays setting sun, looking west from the back steps.

 Looking east from the back steps, the setting sun casting its waning light on the snow covered mountains. 

Our valley is a frozen winter wonderland! 

We woke up today to a morning temp of -17 and our high is only expected to reach 24 degrees!

A very chilly end to 2012 for sure!

Happy New Years Eve! 

Let it Snow...

And it did!

It started snowing late in the afternoon on Christmas day and it snowed all through the night.

We woke up this morning to lots of snow!

It snowed off and on all day and there are about seven inches on the ground as of right now.

We are under a storm watch until tomorrow morning!

We haven't had a snow like this in three years or so.

I grabbed my camera this afternoon and took a little walk around the house to see what I could see.

A little snow makes lends a magical touch to the ordinary things we see every day.

Green glass insulators seem much more interesting nestled in a bit of snow.

 A chilly fireside setting.

 Morgan the rooster standing guard over his house. 

The chickens are less them impressed with the snow!

 Our six little trees.

This is the first heavy snow fall for them.

 A few leaves still clingto the small branches of the trees.

 Even the tumbleweeds seem more interesting covered with snow.

 Tractor tires sit idle in winter collecting winter designs.

 Tracks line the drive way of those who have traveled in and out.

 The view that is directly out our front door.

It was starting to snow again when I took this shot.

"The first fall of snow is not only an event, it is a magical event. You go to bed in one kind of a world and wake up in another quit different, and if this is not enchantment then where is it to be found."

~ J.B. Priestley~

Orange Iced Cranberry Cookies

I stole came across this recipe at Chronicles of a Country Girl last week.

I thought about these cookies all week long. 

I made these cookies today and Oh My, they are out of this world good! 

Thank you Kate for sharing the recipe!

You can find the recipe here.

If you've never stopped in to visit Kate, please do. Her blog is beautiful and her photography is breathtaking!

Family members who live near and far will be receiving these cookies (along with other yummy treats) in goody boxes this coming week!

On the Rise

Sometimes I get on a roll and bake things like this!

These are baked donuts and they were very good!

I found the recipe on Pinterest...here

I used my bread machine and it worked out great!

We liked the cinnamon topping better than the glazed.

I also like to make homemade french bread.

I had not made it for awhile due to the fact that I had removed gluten from my diet.

After a long conversation with my doctor this past summer, I slowly added gluten back into my diet and removed most of the dairy. 

I must say that I really missed bread! Good homemade bread!

I have used a bread machine recipe for years and it turns out perfect every time.

The machine does all of the kneading and then I shape by hand, let it rise and bake. 

Fresh bread hot from the oven....Yum! 

Apple Goodness

I'm convinced I could become an apple pie junkie!

After much debate (in my mind), I have come to the conclusion that apple pie is my favorite pie.

 

Several weeks ago we had to run out to my parents place to do a bit of winterizing.

Mom and I went out to pick some apples off their tree.

They didnt' have a bumper crop this year, but there were a few nice size apples on the tree.

Since I'm tall, I was able to reach the apples that mom couldn't get to.

 

The following day, I made a pie with apples that I already had on hand and I added a few of the freshly picked apples as well.

 

I love making pie!

There is something very comforting about the entire process!

And the eating part...yeah well, I've got that part down pretty well too!

Yep, I LOVE apple pie!

Pumpkin Snickerdoodles

I tweaked an old recipe and made these fall favorites a couple of weekends back.

Snickerdoodles have long been one of my favorite cookies.

These pumpkin snickerdoodles went perfect with a cup of hot cider.

Pumpkin Snickerdoodles

3 3/4 cups flour

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp cream of tarter

1 cup butter

2 cups sugar

2 eggs

1/3 cup canned pumpkin

1 tsp vanilla

6 Tblsp sugar

1 tsp ground cinnamon

freshly grated nutmeg

Blend together flour, soda, cream of tarter and salt in a medium bowl. In a mixing bowl, beat butter for 30 seconds; add 2 cups sugar and beat until fluffy. Add eggs, pumpkin and vanilla; beat well. Add dry ingredients to beaten mixture, beating until well combined. Form dough into 1 inch balls; roll in a mixture of 6 tablespoons sugar, cinnamon and nutmeg. Place on cookie sheet; flatten slightly with the bottom of a glass  dipped in sugar mixture. Bake at 375 degrees for 8 minutes or until cookies are set and light golden in color. Makes about 5 dozen cookies.

Enjoy with hot cider or hot chocolate! 

Every Changing Sky

Last week brought a blast of winter weather our way.

Coming home last Wednesday from work I was admiring the pretty scene ahead of me while driving north on the highway home.

I turned onto our road, pulled over and got out to take some photos.

 

This is looking northeast from my vantage point on our road.

 This shot is looking directly north from my vantage point.

The mountains were lined with snow and the sky was a pretty light blue and gray.

 On the way home, I happened to notice a man off on the side of the road taking photos but I couldn't figure out what he was taking photos of. Well, when I turned around from taking my own shots this is what I saw....and most likely what the man on the side of the road was capturing with his camera.

These wicked looking clouds were forming directly behind me toward the southeast.

There was an angry squall moving over town at that moment and the clouds were ominous looking!

So I had two views to capture in the photos and they were literally taking place side by side as I snapped away!

 

There is a saying we like to use here in Nevada, "if you don't like the weather, wait five minutes and it will change." This is certainly proof of that! 

Chilly October Morning

Woke up to more snow this morning!

It was down right cold too!

Had to break out the winter down vest!

On my way to work, I stopped and snapped a photo of the snow on the mountains around us.

I like the contrast of colors in the photo.

Fall and Winter....dueling!

 

Just a Dusting

Woke up to the sound of rain this morning.

The sound of rain is one we haven't heard for some time.

As I drove to work and climbed up out of our valley, it started to snow.

Just a dusting covered the mountains around us.

Am I ready for winter...not really, yet we need the rain, so I won't complain. (too much!)

Thursday's Things in a Row - Vette Style

 

I missed "rows" last Thursday due to my work schedule.

That schedule had me attending a dinner at a local establishment and when I came out that evening, these three corvettes were all in line in the parking lot. These cars just screamed "take our photo!"

It was hard getting a good shot with my little point and shoot in the low, evening light.

The black vette is hard to see in the shot below, but three vettes in a row there were indeed!

For more Thursday's Things in a Row, be sure to travel on over and visit Pat at A View from the Edge. 

Thursday's Things in a Row

My "Things in a Row" offerings for this week...

 

Clouds with swirls in a row.

 

 Pretty Fall sunflowers arranged in a row.

 

For more Thursday's Things in a Row  hop on over and visit Pat.

Wednesday's Words of Wisdom

Thursday's Things in a Row

I'm giving myself a pat on the back because I remembered to join in with rows this week!

Pat, pat, pat, pat.....

Speaking of pats, if you want to see more "things in a row" be sure to go on over and visit Pat.

 

 

These shots were taken on our camping trip a few weeks back.

Trees in a row high on a ridge.

The little mountain town where we camped found a unique way to spell out its name on shovels in a row.

The original back-drop from the old stage in the community hall in Jarbidge.

I love all of the old ads and they just happened to line up in rows as well.

47 Miles in 3 Hours

Yes, it took almost three hours to travel 47 miles of dirt road to reach our camping spot two weekends ago!

The road was winding, narrow and climbed to an elevation of 8600 feet at its highest point!

The Jarbidge Wilderness area sits in the northeast portion of the state close to the Idaho border.

The area has approved Forest Service camp sites that are situated along the Jarbidge river.

 

We had a large campsite with plenty of room.

The firewood was already there when we arrived, but since there is a burn ban across the state, we didn't have a fire.

 

The river ran a long side our camp site.



 

We drove the canyon one day and again it took a couple of hours to make our way from one end to the other, but mile wise it was probably only 30 miles or so.

The canyon is filled with fascinating rock formations!

Can you see the faces?

 



 

This formation reminded me of some sort of castle!



 

This is the view from the Idaho side looking down into the canyon gorge.

The desert landscape is in stark contrast to the trees and vegetation that make up the canyon and wilderness area!

We have a very spoiled dog!

She gets her own camp chair! 

She also doesn't like to be cold, so she snuggled in my quilt that I had on top of my sleeping bag!

Hubby did some fishing!

The river is full of rainbow and bull trout!

This photo was taken on top of Bear Creek Summit, which sits at 8600 feet!

It is one of the only places to receive a cell signal!



The vegetation varied from one area to the next!

This area is known for large bands of elk!

In the canyon, the sun goes down by 4:30 p.m. and as soon as it dropped out of sight, it got chilly!

I don't like to be cold, so since we couldn't have a fire, hubby started the propane buddy heater.

The dog and I were heat hogs at that point! 

We spotted this very large hornets nest while out on a drive.

After this shot was snapped, several hornets flew along side the truck for a bit!

We spotted deer in the meadows.

Sometimes you would round a bend in the road only to find deer standing in the middle of it!

The road meanders up, up, up and up before it declines back into the flat desert landscape.

 

There were hidden gems around every bend!

 

Breathtaking views!

Bands of sheep grazing in the canyons!

 

Bright blue sky and fluffy clouds greeted us on the flats as we headed towards home.

After the fast paced days of August and the non-stop, on the go weekend of fair, it was nice to get away for a few days! To slow down and step back from life a little bit!

Nevada has some beautiful, hidden gems if you are willing to put some gravel in your travel to find them!