The Herd and Happy New Year

I spotted the large antelope herd on my way out of our valley yesterday morning.

I haven't seen them for awhile. 

They were crossing the road in front of me and heading into the neighbors fields.

This group turned in front of me and headed back towards the desert.

I had to roll down the car window and zoom in with my camera to get a few photos.

All of the snow that we got earlier this month is now melted and we are back to our usual winter brown.

The herd adds beauty to our valley! 

 In the top photo the herd is on the run.

In the bottom photo, some of them were brave enough to stop to see what I was doing.

Wishing everyone a Very Happy, Healthy and Prosperous New Year! 

Happy, Happy New Year! 

The Cats

These two stayed up late to wait for Santa on Christmas Eve.

 All three cats were delighted with the wrapping paper and boxes! 

 But not so happy about the bows! 

I hope everyone had a Merry Christmas!

The day after has been relaxing and quiet. 

An Early Christmas Gift, a Covered Coop

These cute little birds, perched atop this tree were becoming a menace to our little flock of chickens.

Earlier this fall, Hayman built new feeders that really helped to keep the wild birds at bay.

But then the snow came and with it I swear every wild bird within a hundred miles showed up!

We had chickadees, starlings and dove!

They would swoop in and and clean out the feeders in a jiffy!

Those little suckers worked in groups and pairs to get the cleaning out job done!

Smart little suckers! 

So Hayman came up with a new covered coop plan.

We bought the supplies last week and spent two days working on it in very cold temps!

The coop is now covered with a more bird friendly top so they can't get hung up in the netting when they try to get in. And try they do, but they don't usually succeed!

The gate is now covered with a "net door" which has really helped a lot!

No more wilds tormenting and eating all of the chicken food!

This covered coop project was my Christmas present from Hayman.

Even though I was out there helping him, he did all of the hard work and I was just more like moral support. 

I love this man to the moon and back!

And this project is the perfect present because it will keep on giving all year long!

Frosty Fog

The extremely cold temperatures brought an icy fog to our valley last week.

We call it Pogonip, but others call it hoar frost.

Whatever name you choose to use, doesn't really matter.

The fog rolls in and covers the valley in an icy, frosty layer.

Everything was covered in Pogonip for several days in a row last week.

I took these photos last Tuesday morning on my trip to the chicken coop to do chores.

Handles on the feed barrel looked like they were sprouting icy daggers.

Good thing I had my gloves on!

Gate to one of the coops.

I liked the pattern the frost made on the chicken wire.

Pogonip covered trees! 

Pogonip spikes up close and personal! 

The wind chime was covered in the frosty stuff too.

The temps have warmed since last week and the snow that was on the ground for over two weeks has all but melted away.

We hit the mid 40's here temp wise over the weekend and it felt down right balmy! 

Frozen Sunset

I took this shot on one of my many treks to the chicken coop this week.

Even when the sun is out, nothing is thawing out!

We are still locked in a frozen, winter wonderland!

It's Coming on Christmas

I snapped this photo while standing at my kitchen window yesterday evening.

Immediately after doing so the words from a Joni Mitchell song popped into my head.

I have no idea why...but they did.

It's coming on Christmas

They're cutting down trees

They're putting up reindeer

And singing songs of joy and peace

Oh I wish I had a river I could skate away on

But it don't snow here

It stays pretty green

I'm going to make a lot of money

Then I'm going to quit this crazy scene

Oh I wish I had a river I could skate away on

I wish I had a river so long

I would teach my feet to fly

I wish I had a river I could skate away on

Maybe it was the tracks in the snow that made me think of skating,

Or just some other random thought process in my snow laden mind!

Non the less, it was a pretty scene that captured my attention and made me stop to ponder the words to a song!

There's a Chicken in My Bathroom

Yes, there is a chicken in my bathroom.

Meet J.J.or Little J as we like to call her.

J.J. is one of our original show birds that our daughter used when she was showing poultry.

J.J. is retired now and has been living a comfortable life in the chicken coop retirement home.

That is until the sub zero temps took hold this past week and plunged us into a deep freeze!

J.J. developed a cold!

Yes, a chicken with a cold!

Well it's more like an upper respiratory infection, but cold sounds better.

J.J. is almost ten years old, so she wasn't handling the sub zero temps very well.

So I moved her into the bathroom a few days ago.

Started her on a round of antibiotics yesterday.

She seemed to be sneezing less today and showed other signs of improvement.

She is eating well and seems to really like her posh surroundings. 

She is really a fan of the extra little treats she has been getting.

J.J. will mostly likely be in the house for awhile or at least until our temps warm back up some.

By the way, J.J. is a silky hen, just in case you were wondering.

The cats and dog all think she is fascinating.

She could care less about them!

She's much too busy enjoying her new digs! 

I may or may not be known as the crazy chicken lady around here! 

HA! 

Untouched

Took this photo with my iphone over the Thanksgiving weekend.

I was pleased to capture the beauty of the evening sky.

The photo is untouched. 

Just look at all that color! 

Extreme Roofing

Who puts a new metal roof on a house in sub zero temps!

 Apparently we do!

The job was started last Friday before the storm hit us.

The guys got half of the new metal roof on before the snow fell.

It snowed Friday night and early Saturday morning.

The amount of snowfall we received required snow removal from said roof!

The guys doing the job drove the thirty miles out to our place to get up on the roof and sweep it off!

Hubby has been helping as well.

Every time they go up on the roof, I cringe! 

Today they came out to finish the job!

It was -26 degrees this morning!

Talk about dedicated roofers!

Dedicated and really wanted and needed to get the job done!

I ran out to snap a few photos and then ran back inside where it was warm!

It was -18 when I took this shot and they had just started on the second half of the roof.

 Things were rather slick, so maneuvering the sheets of metal was tricky!

Everyone came in at lunch to warm up.

We have kept the fire going in the fireplace to help warm the roof and the guys gather around the pipe coming out of the roof to warm their hands.

One of the guys almost went off the roof just before lunch!

Only a few more hours and they should be done!

Who does crazy stuff like this in sub zero temps!
Apparently we do!

Job completed!
Everyone safe!
Roof looks great!

Sub Zero

Woke up to snow on Saturday morning.

Lots of snow!

Over 6 inches of snow!

We knew it was coming, just didn't know how much we would get for sure.

Snow is pretty, if you can stay home, indoors, where it's warm and enjoy it.

Not the case here!

I had to work on Saturday!

Chores first though!

Had to take the token boot shot!

 Had to shovel out the chicken coops.

Made paths inside the coops just in case the chickens wanted to come out.

 Mr. Frizzle came out to help and complain about the white stuff on the ground.

I shared in his misery!

He didn't stay out for long and none of the other chickens ventured out at all.

 A layer of white as far as the eye can see!

 Road reports were not good.

Hubby decided he had better drive Meg and I to town for work.

Good thing he did as the roads were an icy mess! 

After a day in town, we left early to head back home. 

The roads were still terrible! Icy, slick, frozen!

People were driving like idiots!

As we turned off the hwy onto the dirt road that leads into our valley, I told hubby to slow down so I could snap the photo below.

The scene looking north was beautiful and I'm glad I was able to capture just a bit of it!

It was -15 below when we woke up this morning!

Yes, I said -15 below!

Out My Front Door

The view from my front door is mostly the same from day to day. 

And then sometimes, I open the door...

And I'm simply in awe! 

Wild Birds or Bust

We have had chickens for about ten years now.

Daughter raised them as a 4-H project and showed them.

They have provided us with eggs galore over the years!

Now, they are getting up there in years.

Our oldest hens are ten years old.

 

The wild birds have always been a problem!

They love to fly into the coop and eat all of the hen scratch in one fell swoop!

They can clean out a feeder faster than a speeding bullet!

 

We use to have bird netting over the coop, but I got fed up with it and tore it down!

It was not bird "friendly" at all!

I got tired of running out to untangle a bird that had gotten caught in the net.

 

Now that I have taken over the care of the chickens since daughter is all grown up and done showing them, I decided that something finally had to be done about the wild bird situation!

Seriously, we were going to go bust feeding those damn wild things!

 

So I started talking about the problem and doing some research.

I made some suggestions about what I could buy to help with the problem.

Next thing I know, hubby has built new feeders for me!

He did lots and lots of research on his own without my asking him too and came up with something that he thought might work.

 

And work it has!

The wilds still come to check out the food situation, but leave mostly empty handed now.

 

It didn't take long for the chickens to figure out the new feeders either.

They seem to like the new arrangement as much as I do!

 

 

New covered feeder that my handy, dandy hubby built!

He built two of them as we have two coops.

 

 

Happy hens enjoying their breakfast, sans wild birds!

 

 

I still toss out a bit of grain for them to scratch around at.

They clean it up quickly and the wild birds don't stand a chance now!



 

Keeping the wild birds at bay for now!

 



Fall Back and Remember

November!

Already!

Wow! 

I'm not a fan of the time change!

All of this "fall back" crap is for the birds!

I'm just not a fan of it getting dark while I'm still sitting at my desk at work!

I'm not a fan of having to drive home in the dark!

If I lived in town and just had to drive down the street, no big deal, but I don't and for me, it's quit a trek to get home in the evening. 

The early darkness makes it less enjoyable! 

I left work early this past Friday because my boss poked his head in the door at 4 p.m. and told me I could leave early if I wanted to. 

Who was I to argue with that!

My drive home was nice and as I turned on to the dirt road that leads to the valley, the sun was setting.

It was a beautiful sunset full of color!

I'm glad I was able to see it!

I took this shot at the top of the hill before heading into the valley.

This was taken on the curve by the first set of hay fields leading into the valley.

 And this shot was taken on the "straight of way" heading towards home.

It's a three day weekend!

Thank you to all of the Veterans who have served past, present and future for their service and sacrifice! 

We must always remember that there is a high price to be paid for all of the freedoms that we enjoy!

May we never forget that! 

Did You Say...SNOW!

YES, IT SNOWED HERE!

IT SNOWED A LOT!

Sorry, I'm done shouting now!

We knew there was a storm coming, but had no clue it was going to dump snow on us overnight!

It started raining around midnight and I could hear the steady fall of it throughout most of the night.

At some point though, it turned to SNOW!

We so need the moisture and I'm all for rain, lots of rain, but...

I'm SO NOT ready for the snow!

I left for work at my usual time after being forewarned about how bad the road was in our valley, made it about 7 miles down the road and slide right off into the bar-ditch!

Ripped the license plate right of the front of my car I did!

I turned around and went home mumbling cursing all the way about how much I dislike loath the snow!

Hubby was very sweet and warmed up his truck to take me to town cause I needed to get to the office.

I stopped at the office and picked up work to bring back home to do.

No way was I going to sit at my desk all day and worry about what the hell our road was going to be like for my drive home. I'm a worrier like that and then I become non-productive! 

We ran a couple of errands that needed taking care of and then headed back for the farm.

It was STILL SNOWING! 

There was about 6 inches on the top of our little pass that leads in/out of the valley!

The valley floor had about 4 inches and the roads were a horrible, snowy, slicker than snot, muddy mess!

I have spent the day working from home wondering if the storm was going to pass or hang around.

The storm is still hanging over us and we are forecast to receive more snow over night.

Oh goody...NOT! 

"It seems as if winter is impatient to show her chilly, frozen face."

Fall Afternoon

Fall has arrived in our valley.

The frenetic pace of summer has passed.

Fall has arrived with its browns, its golds, its crisp cold mornings and warm afternoons.

Fall has arrived with its winds!

The fields are going to sleep.

Fall has arrived like an old friend.

"I would rather sit on a pumpkin, and have it all to myself, than be crowded on a velvet cushion." 

~ Henry David Thoreau

A Chilly Cemetery Stroll

Earlier in the month, we traveled to Virginia City, Nevada for a friends wedding.

It was a weekend jam packed full of fun, adventure and beautiful moments!

Aside from all of the wedding activities that were planned, we had a list of things we wanted to do as well. 

One of them was to take a walk through the Virginia City cemetery.

After breakfast on Sunday morning and before we left town, we made a stop at the cemetery.

While the weather had been beautiful the day before, it was chilly and drizzly on Sunday morning.

You could see your breath as you walked along! 

Meg's and I bundled up and headed up the dirt path with cameras in hand.

There was a historical walk getting ready to take place, but we didn't have time to join in on that as it would have taken almost two hours to complete. I think it would have been fun to do as they had historical reenactors guiding the tour and stationed throughout the cemetery. It's on our list "of things to do" on our next visit.

Off we went!

The clouds set down further over the valley as we walked along. 

You could feel the past all around you! It was eerily quiet as we moved up the rocky path. 

 Many of the graves are family plots and surrounded by intricate fences or rock walls. 

 Under that tree was a lone grave, the wooden marker no longer readable.

 The knob on this gate caught my attention. I thought it was rusted at first, but it was marble!

So pretty! And this was another family plot!

 The barren tree adds to the desolate landscape!

 There was lots of uphill walking on the rocky path. 

As we topped a rise the oldest part of the cemetery came into view!

This is where I stopped. Meg went on down the road to get more photos. 

We could have spent hours there just wondering the paths, reading headstones and soaking in the history that we could feel all around us! 

Virginia City is steeped in a rich, vibrant history and is such a wonderful place to visit and explore!

Before we head back for our next visit, I'm going to have to get my legs in shape!

There is a lot of uphill walking in this little town built on the side of the mountains! 

Hunters Moon on the Rise

The October full moon is known as the Hunters Moon.

I took this photo on my way home from work on Wednesday, October 16 just after 6 p.m. 

 I took this shot on Friday, October 18 just after 7 p.m.

The Hunters moon was full and bright rising over our valley!

It's been keeping me and the critters awake at night! 

A full moon is never better seen then in a rural location far from city lights! 

New Addition

Her name is Zelda.

A.K.A. Butter Bean

I have no idea why I feel the need to give our critters nicknames, but I do. 

Zelda is our daughters' cat.

Zelda's momma lives at the grooming shop that our daughter works at, so Meg's has been around Zelda since she was born! 

When she was itty-bitty, her eyes were bright blue.

They have since changed to a deep golden color.

She is sweet kitty and greets you at the door when you come home.

 She loves to "hide" and pretend she can't be seen.

 She loves to sleep in unusual positions!

 And she loves to snuggle with her person. 

Having a kitten around is like having a two year old in the house!

Always into something and up to mischief! 

She is a fun addition to our critter family!