Brrrrrrrrrrr!!!!

Those pesky turkeys again...most of the following photos were taken with the new teeny, tiny camera.

A forecast of snow 'flurries' turned into a serious snowfall yesterday afternoon and gave us a very white Christmas day. Because our turkey was already done at 2:30, we decided to feed the horses early so we could sit back, eat dinner and have a relaxing evening together. We were very glad we did when the snow started falling thick and heavy less than an hour later at the time we normally would have been taking out feed. Instead, we were sitting warm inside, adding wood to the fire, while the horses began what turned out to be a very cold night with already full bellies and enough hay to keep them munching until morning.

Mike drove most of the night to get home for Christmas and immediately went to sleep on the couch with Fionna sprawled across his knees. After all, he does belong to her.

Mike had to head back to Cortez at first light and it was a frigid eleven degrees that greeted him. He managed to get everything packed up, including his ski gear in case he has a chance to get over to Durango, and he was on the road shortly after six. We all hated to have him leave after such a short visit and the pups paced and whined long after we could no longer hear his truck.

Vannie showing off her special new easy-on, easy-off, senior lady fleece coat. Because the snow bothers her old feet so much, she has a set of doggie snow booties on their way.

As I knew he would, Mike took very, very good care of me again this Christmas! He is one of those rare people who actually pays attention to things you mention you need, or would like to have during the year, and then surprises you with them. In spite of my love affair with my Nikon D80 camera he gave me last year, I have worried about breaking it while out riding in the woods. Plus, it is pretty bulky to quickly get out of a saddle bag to snap a fast photo. It was just like him to surprise me with my adorable Cannon PowerShot Elph that is no bigger than a deck of cards, but still takes beautiful, high resolution photos. I am already sticking it in my purse or pocket every time I leave the house.

See that cute little red machine up against the deck rail in the middle of all that snow that fell last night? That's my new baby!

One of the more practical things he gave me, besides my beautiful new stove which cooked most of our Christmas dinner, was an electric snow blower! Keeping the deck clear of snow has been a fairly overwhelming chore for me. Shoveling snow is pretty much guaranteed to wreck my back and since I can't afford to be crippled up here by myself, the deck snow often was left until Mike was able to get home again. Well, that's all changed now! This little baby is a dream and actually fun to run.

Fifteen minutes later, that snow is GONE!

And I wasn't the only one who got really cool presents...

Vannie...I got a blue teddy bear!

Duffy...I got a reindeer and stole that teddy bear!

Ellie...I got a frog that croaks and a tiger that growls!

So I just want to say, here on December 26th, how absolutely blessed I feel to be in such an incredible, loving and supportive relationship, to live in the place that gives my heart and soul peace, and to be surrounded by our very special animals who enrich our lives so completely. I miss you Mike...hope you get that darned well drilled and are back home soon!

This was the first photo I took with my new camera, cute little Besol all warm and fuzzy in his winter duds.