Fall is Done & Winter has Come... Full Force

Even though we spent half of winter here last year, I apparently am a little naive. But in my defense we didn't have any snow after we moved here in January until today. The weatherman forecast snow. I thought we'd wake up with a skiff and it'd be gone by this afternoon. I didn't bother picking up MaKatie's toys or the hoses yet. Well we have about a foot of snow for me to go gather them out of and its still coming down.

Here are a few pictures of MaKatie playing in it this afternoon. She didn't want to stop very bad, but she has a lot better snow clothes than this here mama does. I was cold and ready to be done. The romance of snow seems to be gone now that I have a kid who is big enough to play in it.  I love the fresh snow without tracks in it. That is from my couch with a cup of hot cider and a book or movie. My yard is covered in tracks now and that didn't happen by staying on the couch with a good book. It sure was fun to watch her have a blast though. I tried making a snowman... she thought it was a kickball. We made a few snow angels (by we I mean MaKatie did.) She loved just walking through it and randomly belly flopping into it almost as much as she loved eating it. You have to watch her closely... She doesn't quite get the difference between dirty snow and clean snow yet.

A Little Bit of This and That

FALL...my favorite time of year has arrived! Despite the fact that I have felt horrible these past seven weeks Bryant has gotten me out of the house to enjoy it. It is wonderful to live where there are so many quakies. They are my all time favorite tree. Bryant said he rode over the hill the other day gathering cows on the mountain and there were a bunch of red, yellow, and orange quakies. He knew I would love them! So despite my best efforts to stay home close to the porcelain thrown, we went to see them one Sunday afternoon. Boy am I glad that we did. Gorgeous doesn't even begin to describe them. Nor do my pictures give it justice. Took a couple pictures. Had I known the lighting would be perfect and it would look like we were in a studio, we would've dressed up a bit. However, the shirt Bryant is wearing is vintage. His Grandma Peterson gave him a few of his Grandpa Payne's shirts from when he was still alive. Kind of cool to see him wear them around a bit. That's one person I look forward to meeting on the other side some day. I've heard lots of cool stories about him and I hear he loved his  grandbabies. A man that loves kids has a special spot in my heart. I like to think of him and my Great Grandma Vi being good friends in Heaven.

The red ones are my favorite. Who would have guessed?

We also listened to the elk bugling...

And saw some cool deer. (Bryant was really impressed with the one farthest away because his antlers fork different. I didn't know any better. To me a deer is a deer.)

The weather forecasted cold was coming... Wait a big gasp... Who would've guessed that would happen in Woodruff. Bryant and MaKatie picked three cookie sheet cake pans full of green tomatoes. Yep that's right only two got to ripen on the vine this year.

With the cold weather in the fall brings weaning and shipping, so that sent some of the cowboys away to help some other ranches. Which means I was left in charge on the home front for one night... The thought never crossed my mind to stop watering the lawn at night if the forecast was low 20's and Bryant already picked the whole garden. In one night with the sprinkler on this is what I woke up to. When I fed the dogs that evening there was still ice under this poor little tree.

And MaKatie has decided that rope she got for her birthday can be kind of fun with the right company around.  

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