Jumping Juncos

As I watch the birds around our feeder, I am amazed at the Northern Juncos.

One minute, they are hopping around our deck.

The next minute, they are jumping off the deck to get at the seed below.

Our deck is about twenty feet off the ground,
so it is a big jump for the tiny juncos.

They remind me of my skiing days.
For six winters, I lived in Truckee, California, near Lake Tahoe.
I became a really, really good skier, which happens when you live there all winter.
I used to stand at the top of the double black diamond runs,
lean over
and JUMP!

The juncos remind me of how I used to ski!

Take Flight

This afternoon, I looked up and saw a bald eagle soaring overhead.

We have seen two eagles flying over our property for the past few years,
and we are pretty sure that they live nearby.

What a beautiful sight!

Cinnamon Roll Cake debut

It's ready!
The Cinnamon Roll Cake will make it's debut tomorrow morning at the Farmers Market!
It will debut on the web sometime tomorrow afternoon.
You are going to love this cake!

And One More Snow Day

I said I would post the image and here I am!

I am not covered in snow as much as I thought.

I took my jacket hood and sweatshirt hood off and cleared my goggles,
so some of the snow is gone.

I have to wear the bright orange hat so I can be seen at the edge of the driveway.

I do not want to be a statistic as I clear the drive!

I wore way too many layers of clothes.
Because it was very windy, I thought I would be chilled.
I was wrong.
I was roasting, especially when I shoveled by hand!

Today, I had a dentist appointment and did not have time
to clear the drive before I left.
When I came home, it was done!
Michael knew that I would not be very comfortable
after the visit to the dentist, so he cleared the driveway for me.
What a great husband I have!

And Another Snow Day

When I posted on the blog yesterday, the snow was flying.

I made a last minute decision to snow blow the driveway yesterday afternoon,
in anticipation of Michael having an early morning appointment.

Good choice!

I removed about four inches of snow yesterday,
then discovered four more inches of snow this morning,
along with the snow banks at the edge of the driveway from the snow plows.

Michael would not have been able to get out of the drive
this morning if I had not gotten a head start on it yesterday.

Michael photographed me right after I completed the
snow removal task this morning.
I have not seen it yet, but I was covered in snow.
I will post tomorrow!

I have a dear friend who lives in Connecticut.
She posted on Facebook that her wonderful husband cleared the driveway,
while she got to sleep in.
I posted back that my husband cooks and bakes for me,
so the least I can do is clear the driveway!
What great husbands we have!

Another Snow Day

What a gorgeous snow storm we are having right now! Great big snowflakes are falling (or blowing sideways) and blanketing the ground and trees.
We are so blessed to be able to look out the windows to watch the storm from our warm warehouse.
I look forward to snow blowing the driveway tomorrow morning. Snow blowing ranks right up there with splitting wood. I love both activities!
Stay warm and safe!

Winter Wonderland

When I was supposed to be painting my bathroom closet yesterday,
I was doing everything I could to stay outside.
I hand shoveled the driveway, then spent some time with the camera.
It was way too beautiful to be inside.

This is our bridge over Beitner Creek.
You hear the creek and all of the birds on our website.
Yesterday, I got to enjoy the real thing in full color and surround sound!

This is one of our sunflowers from summer.
I really wanted sunflowers, but Michael did not have time to plant them early last summer.
One day, we looked in our planter, and there were about five sunflowers!
The birds had dropped seeds and they grew into very tall, very pretty flowers.
I still think this one is still pretty, with his snow hat on!

This is one of our blue spruces that we transplanted
just after we bought our Creekside property.
He is growing into a very lovely tree.

This is the view from our kitchen/warehouse.

Who wants to work inside when I get to see this view every day?

I am making up for lost hours yesterday,
by working tonight,
but it was worth it!

Monster Cookies are here!

I have been taste testing and taste testing and taste testing
Monster Cookies
for the past few weeks and they are so good!

Michael has been tweaking and shrinking the recipe
and finally got everything to fit in the box.

His original recipe made about 36 cookies,
but it would have taken three boxes to hold the mix!

The mix makes about twelve monster size cookies.

As soon as I create the label, the cookies will be on the web.
I will have a great time drawing and coloring monsters.

Keep checking the site for their grand arrival!

Late Bloomer

Michael's aunt had a Christmas cactus on her very old freezer that generated a lot of heat.
It lived on her porch year round.
Before she died, she said that we had to take it.

This plant is very, very old.
It lives in an old clay pot, with very old dirt,
but it blooms every year.

This year, it was a late bloomer.
The first blossom opened yesterday.
It is so pretty, that I do not mind that it did not open in time for Christmas!

Lunch Line is for the birds

Yesterday as I was eating lunch, I looked at our suet feeder. It is on a wooden pole on our deck.

At the feeder was a male Red Bellied woodpecker. Just below him on the pole was a male Downy woodpecker, waiting his turn. At the bottom of the pole was a female Hairy woodpecker, waiting for the males to finish dining.

They were all polite and patient while they waited to get to the feeder. While humans wait in horizontal lines for lunch, the woodpeckers wait vertically!

Let It Snow

Lots and lots of snow coming our way

makes for a great New Year's Day!

Happy New Year!