{SnOw DaY #6 & #7 2011!!} We're seeing grass

 I will admit, I have thoroughly enjoyed the snow.  Being from a warm-weather state I thought that having snow and ice would be such a drudge and hassle to deal with.  And, if you HAVE to leave and get out in it, it is not for the faint of heart--that'd be me! But seeing the beauty in it and watching the kids play has been really good for us, and it hasn't been the hassle that we first thought.  Now it's melting. We are at 53 degrees and expecting rain most of this week.  Here we go!

 The grass and pond are definitely defrosting, making it easier for the animals altogether. 

You can see where the snow is becoming sparse and grass (or that brown stuff) is coming through. There, past the horses, you can see my favorite tree in the distance.

 On the way to town, we go over several little bridges with these gorgeous creeks running under them.  We couldn't come to town this way before because the road over the creeks was completely iced over. 
This one (below) is my favorite little creek. It is so pretty at every season. 

 Isn't God so amazing that He made our world so full of beauty, naturally. 

 I'm so thankful He has allowed me to live here and see all the

T R E A S U R E 

He has put around me. Just amazing!

 Do you know the one thing that is always outstanding in its field?

 COWS! Ha-Ha! I love cows. Their just so natural.

{MaYbE, mOrE tO cOmE!}

{SnOw DaY #5 2011!!} The Defrost Has Begun...

 ...and since the kids and I have been indoors for most of the week, we decided to take a trip to town.  Here's how it went. This is one of the good roads we traveled on to get into our closest town.  This is good. My husband said that yesterday it was only a one lane road. 

 These are chicken houses. We have them everywhere in the south.  

 This is a cabin up in the woods, around where we live.  It is really gorgeous from this view. 

 Same road, further down.

 Heading into town, we pass alot of families and their farms/homes.

 This used to be used as a chicken house and now many, like this, are used as barns and storage for the retired farmers and their families.

 To the right of this little house is a small cattle and horse farm.  Their pond is nearly iced over. A few more days of these cold temps and we could have skated on this pond.

 Our town is a farming town.  This is the town's livestock sales barn.  Every Saturday and Tuesday they either have horses/mules or cattle and other livestock going up for auction.  You can purchase tack and feed and sometimes small equipment here.

 Finally, we are in town.  Here is our favorite gas station.  Chevron. The owner, Miss Dorothy, is a precious lady.  She always makes a fuss over the kids and insists they have a treat when they come in the store...either a slushy, hot cocoa or other treat.  She keeps her station so clean and the parking lot extremely tidy.  She sweeps it herself and always talks with her customers.  Kinda old fashioned, don't cha think? We absolutely love that about her. 

 Yes, we have a walmart super store.  We don't shop there very often though.  My husband does work at a local grocery store, you know.  I just took the picture because of the amount of snow to see. Any parking lots in town are filled with piles of snow.

 We drove out to the other side of town and this was the view.  Very gorgeous land with all that snow.  Thankfully, the town has had many people getting the main roads back into shape for travel. 

 Coming back through, we saw this drive-thru. It was piled high too.  Very different for our community.

 One of the snow piles.  It's bigger than it looks here. 

Back home, the horses needed watering, and they love the icy cold snow.  They've been eating it right out of our hands. 

  The defrost has begun and maybe by the end of the weekend it will be gone. 

 Last night our low was 7 degrees. It's up to 42 right now! That's really great. And by Monday our forecast says, "High of 47." We might make it up there. 

{MoRe To CoMe!!}

{SnOw DaY #4 2011!!} Snow still here

The snow is still hanging in there!  It's is still cold and tonight is going to be our coldest so far.  Tomorrow is predicted to be up to 38! So, "We're havin' a heat wave, a tropical heat wave!" Maybe by the end of this weekend, the snow will have melted and on it's way to the pond or lakes or even the ocean. This morning my husband and our oldest daughter ventured out to walk to the car parked at the end of the drive.  It's about a 1/4 mile or so and covered with ice and snow.  We are completely laughing every time they leave!  This has kept us in a good attitude as well as given us a new and growing appreciation for our vehicles.  It was 12 degrees this morning when they left!  Shortly after they had left, the snow started to fall again. Thank goodness they made it to the car in time!

 I am just crackin' up with this expression here! She is kinda dreading the little hike, but oh well! Nothing like gettin' up and at it and gettin' that 'ole blood flowing! Her Daddy is lovin' it-TOTALLY!!

 Yea, our little doe-gee is going down with them...remember, we do have a pack of coyotes that run this area.

 Wait up Dad~

 Sky's are absolutely gorgeous this afternoon.  Still, the land is covered in snow and a thick layer of ice.

 Look at this little guy! He has found the 'hugest icicle and is going to eat it! Go for it baby!

 See all the way across the hills, they are full of snow. Simply gorgeous!

 Sunset at our house, over the snow.

It has been such a great week here. Snow, sledding, being home and lovin' it! This afternoon I cleaned out my Tupperware cabinet-moved it to another part of the kitchen, rearranged my canned food, organized my Hoosier cabinet, put all my baking supplies, utensils, appliances and staples into one area/large antique cabinet and plan to finish the rest of my kitchen tomorrow. Maybe I'll post it and take pictures. I'm so excited about having my kitchen just the way I want it. What a relief!
{MoRe To CoMe!}

The rest of our {SnOw DaY #3 2011!!} Making snow angels, sliding down the icy hill & finally, coming inside!

 After starting out the day with a lengthy trek up the driveway to our car, the kids were off to ride down the hills in our pasture. Diego, our ever faithful tri-colored paint is watching over the kids as they slide down the hills and then run back up. He figures he could do it too, but for now it's their turn.  

 Chickens are inside their coop, trying to stay warm, waiting for more scratch feed. Ok, they'll get a little bit more, since it's so cold.

Laci, our 8 1/2 yr old mix breed dog, has adapted well to farm life.  She doesn't leave the kids when they are outdoors.  Sometimes I can't tell who is having more fun, the kids or the animals.

At last, snow angels!  The snow that fell earlier this morning has made it soft and fluffy to lay on.  Well, a little bit softer anyway! And time to go inside.  They've been outdoors since before Dad and Sis left this morning.  Almost 4 hours ago!

Time for lunch and the preparation for tonight's lows.  Supposed to be 12 degrees.
p.s. it didn't make it up to 27 today

{MoRe To CoMe!}

{SnOw DaY #3 2011!!} Early morning snow and walking to work

 Early this morning snow was falling pretty good and then the clouds cleared and the sun shone bright and warm.  It was 15 degrees  and we were glad for that.
It was lower through the night. 

 Now the sun is out, it's 18 and our high for today will be up to 27 degrees, hopefully.

 Snow falling early this morning (above) and the boys checking the horses' water (below)

 Hi-ho, hi-ho, it's off to work we go!  (below)

  Work can't wait and so off they go! (look closely in these 3 photos and you can see them walking) We parked the car at the end of the drive(below), so Dad and Big Sis are walking down to it.  The three younger ones are just joining them as they walk down the drive to the car, and then the kids will head back home for their breakfast.  

 

Speaking of breakfast...the newest member of our family(Gato) has found his. 

Yayee!! He's definitely a keeper!

{MoRe To CoMe!}

The rest of our {Snow Day #2 2011!!}

 So as the day went on, we were very productive.  My husband and our son made it back from town with kerosene for our heaters. The girls and I kept ourselves busy in the kitchen baking and cooking up a real 'comfort' food meal and our littlest son helped out by collecting snow from outdoors. We made a bunch of homemade chocolaty-chip wheat cookies, several loaves of whole-wheat bread, and a hot meal of fried potatoes, bacon and turkey bacon, grits and homemade gravy. We skipped the fresh eggs because my little chickens are taking a break from laying their eggs.  It's just too cold for them to produce right now. 

  We're not 'ALL' work and no play!  While the cookies and bread were baking, some of the kids ran outside to check on the horses water and then I heard it.  'BANG!'  'BANG!' 'BANG!', sounded on the back door.  They were all smiles and laughter as I saw all these bursts of snow on the glass!  "Mom! Look now!"  'POW!' Right into the glass again and loud laughter. I love it!

 Shortly after my husband returned, we heard an engine sound coming up our long, icy driveway.  It was our neighbor, Mr. Alexander.  He and his wife live on their farm, a short distance from us and he came down to see if we needed any help with our driveway.  In the background you can see where there were 3 cars parked. My husband left our car parked, up at the front of the drive, near the road. Mr. Alexander offered to run his grader back and forth to clear the ice and snow from our drive.  He did and it's better now.  Mr. & Mrs. Alexander are what you'd call real, down-home neighbors and honestly they're one in a million!  We should all be more like that! (We HAD neighbors like that 7 years ago)

 I've had such great helpers today!  Our nine yr old loves to cook. Here he's cooking bacon and fried bologna. 

 Bread is very much a part of our daily menu.  We purchase, store, grind(mill), use and consume whole wheat in many of our dishes.  Whole wheat bread, biscuits, waffles, pancakes, cupcakes, cookies, cakes, gravies, potpies, all kinds of crusts, and anything else you could imagine that could have flour in the ingredient list. Here our 10 yr old daughter is making bread in our bread maker. We use the bread maker just to knead the dough and then after its kneaded the dough, we take it out, divide it, bake it and then savor the warm, buttery bread, covered with local honey. 

Somebody is getting into the cookie dough!  My little bacon helper.  Our oldest daughter baked a bunch of cookies with puffed,brown rice, fresh oats and chocolate chips.  They were yummie!   

  Checking the horses' water and getting them up and running to get'em warm! 

  Diego can't miss out on any fun. He's the most friendly horse I've ever seen. Any time he sees his family (that'd be us) outdoors, he runs over (and I mean run), and nudges us until we sit on his back.  I think we're going to seriously work with him this spring.  He's not even been broken yet. He's so smart and willing to please his family.  It's kinda neat.

 Last of the day: pizza, tater tots and fresh, homemade chocolate chip cookies.   

{Stay warm. More to come}