i'm dreaming of a white . . .

Thanksgiving!!!

Not just dreaming it either . . . seeing it! I love snow! I love the way it falls in the most amazing peaceful silence . . . the way it makes the world seem light even in the middle of the night because it reflects the light of the stars and the moon . . . the way it sparkles and dazzles when the sun hits it right . . . the crunch it makes under my feet. Snow is awesome.

It started to snow a couple of days ago . . . just a skiff. But it snowed all day on Monday! Tuesday morning, we had around 8 inches, and school was two hours late so I had time to take a long, photo-laden walk.

This is what the first skiff looked like:

 I went over to the neighbors' where I keep my horse to spoil them all with some mostly frozen apples. Drem had a hard time sinking her teeth into them!

 Rusty, the miniature horse, is fat, shaggy, and happy. :)

Fortunately, all the farmers in the area (including my family) had a bumper crop of hay, so the cattle and horses and sheep and goats should all be well fed all winter. :)

It hung just below freezing that first day, but the temperature dropped like a rock yesterday. I set out on my morning walk when it was 18 degrees, but by the time I came in from my afternoon one, it was dropping fast and got all the way down to -7 degrees after dark. I took the kittens out for their first experience in snow, and after the first shock, they seemed to find it quite interesting. Lizzy (the adventurous short-haired one) especially liked it, but Jane preferred to huddle on the porch and watch.

 I love Lizzy's personality! She's outgoing but also by far her own cat. Nobody tells her what to do. She's a lot of fun. :) Jane is also very social, but much sweeter-tempered. They both love to attack anything that moves . . . toes, faces, even their own tails!

 This is what it looked like while it was snowing nonstop:

 This amazing buckskin horse made it a true winter wonderland. :)

 And remember this picture? Here's the same shot seven months later!--

 Poor old cows. . . .

 I persuaded Drem to leave her cozy stall and hay pile long enough for me to take some pictures. She was quickly dusted with snowflakes.

 They gathered thickly in the curve of her back--

 --and putting on my macro lens for a closer look, this is what I found!

Isn't that amazing??

The sun finally came out yesterday afternoon, which is why I went on a second walk--had to get every possible photographical variation!

 I love how these two mailboxes sit side-by-side. I don't know what I find so interesting about it, but there's just something there . . .

 The roads around my place were mostly compact snow and ice until the plow came through again today. They still aren't great--that's snow's one downside, the treacherous driving. Especially because so many people are traveling for Thanksgiving this week, including my two brothers, but thank the Lord they made it home safely. :)

 Jackknife Butte practically glows in this one!

 The wheel lines are all lying idle now . . .

 . . . no such luck for this well-used barn!

We're caring for our friends' farm while they're gone for Thanksgiving, too. I just had to take my camera to their place to capture all the animal shots!!

 This is Rudy, their extremely hyper dog. She never, ever walks and rarely trots. Every movement she makes is a gallop!

Guinea hens . . .

 Lots of sheep . . .

Sheep may not be brilliantly intelligent, but they're so picturesque!

Ducks . . .

And back to Rudy, who was actually sitting down long enough to have her picture taken!

Our cows were extremely cold and complaining this morning as well. Look at how their breath freezes on their whiskers! They're quite well fed, but they don't think they are.

 A quick comparison between day one and day three:

 Oh, so beautiful.

Shout out to Laura in Namibia--I bet it's a LOT warmer there!! I'm so thankful for her willingness to serve the Lord in Africa. Have a blessed Thanksgiving, Laurz! :)

Other things I'm thankful for this Thanksgiving--

~my family being all together!~

~all my pets and livestock, especially Drem and the kitties!~

~a very warm house in this very cold weather!~

~my absolutely amazing friend and sister in Christ, Amanda!~

~chocolate!~

~my camera and laptop!~

~the upcoming Christmas season!~

~the Bible, God's letter to us!~

~Jesus, the perfect sacrifice for our sin!!~

What about you?

Happy Thanksgiving!!!