Let it snow ...

"Oh, the weather outside is frightful, but the fire is so delightful ..."

In the last two days, over 6 inches of snow blanketed our world, and temperatures plummeted.   Elsewhere, this might be greeted with trepidation, but hearty Montanans welcome it.  (Almost) everything is better with snow - skiing of all kinds, snowmobiling, building snowmen, sitting by the fire watching the flakes flutter to the ground.  So I dedicate this post to SNOW!

I am linking up to I Like Thursday with LeeAnna at Not Afraid of Color.  If you need some positives in your life, you will find it among the bloggers who join this party!

"It's a marshmallow world in the winter, when the snow comes to cover the ground

It's time for play, it's a whipped cream day  I wait for it the whole year ' round"

We've had our first ski/ride day at Whitefish Mountain Resort.  

"Over the river and through the woods, to grandmother's house we go;  The horse knows the way to carry the sleigh, through the white and drifted snow!"

Well, it's my best friend's house, and it's a Toyota 4Runner, but I can pretend, right?  

Snow and cold is not all fun and games, especially for animals, domesticated or not.  And for the humans that take care of them.  Something as simple as keeping them watered is challenging in such frigid weather ...  It doesn't come through in this video, but the parade of turkeys was punching through the snow with many of their steps ...

"You could've come like a mighty storm  With all the strength of a hurricane

You could've come like a forest fire  With the power of heaven in Your flame

But You came like a winter snow  Quiet and soft and slow

Falling from the sky in the night  To the earth below"  Chris Tomlin

LeeAnna's prompt for this week asked about Christmas traditions.  The first thing we do on Christmas morning is sing happy birthday to Jesus.  I was pleased to see this Nativity scene in our neighborhood this year - I learned that a father/son team made it by hand! (We usually go to Mass on Christmas Eve.)

Armed with coffee and Christmas cake (see this post for more details), we move on to our stockings - did Santa pop coal or other goodies in there overnight?  Just a few days ago, I finished a new stocking for #1 Daughter.  I started this project in March, as you can see in this post.  She will use this stocking at her home; her "kid" stocking will remain here.

#1 Son will drive here on Friday, and we are thrilled beyond measure that he can join us for Christmas.  For many years, I have teamed up with him to bake gingerbread cookies.  I can almost taste the ginger as I imagine biting into the soft cushion of cookie, shaped as trains, gingerbread people, stars, moose, angels and more.

While all of this goes on (before and on Christmas Day), we are listening to Christmas music ON VINYL.  We have at least 10 records, and many of them I inherited from my parents.  It gives me great joy that #1 Son adores them as much as I do, especially the Andy Williams album.  In the last couple of weeks, I relished a choral concert from Valley Voices and a quirky, delightful hour of fun called Tubachristmas - tuba, euphonium and baritone instruments playing carols.  Check out this audio (sorry, picture is the carpet in the hotel!)

After the stockings, we open gifts, taking turns.  When we still had furbabies, we could find the cats under the tree, or nibbling the ribbons.  #1 Son is leaving his two cats at home - sad face.  They don't normally cuddle with each other; do you think they know he will be gone for a week?

At some point, we will pause opening gifts, to Skype with family in the UK and with #1 Daughter in the Midwest.  On a timeline known only to Head Chef, we begin dinner preparations - he has decided to smoke the turkey this year.  #1 Son is on dressing duty, and I lend a hand wherever I am trusted.  When our bellies are full and the sun has disappeared (early this time of year), we will retire to the movie room - I vote for Klaus even though we have watched it before!  And so, another Christmas will become memory.   Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to you all!

Linking to Saturday's Critters.

Linking to Mosaic Monday

Mosaic Monday #75: The Gift that Keeps on Giving

Coyote - November 7, 2019

And no, I am not talking about the coronavirus!

I am talking about trail cameras.  As faithful readers know, my personal trail cam has captured everything from bears to sandhill cranes to badgers.  I have also had the good fortune to have access to two other cameras that belong to a neighbor.  Recently, I retrieved her disks, which had not been checked since August.  While this meant scrolling through several thousand photos, it also meant a bonanza of wildlife.  Join me for a walk on the wild side!

By far, deer have populated the majority of the photos, with coyotes in second place.  In most cases, only one coyote appears in each frame, so it begs the question whether it is the same coyote each time.  As you study the pictures throughout the post, let me know your conclusion! 

Coyote lopes up neighbor driveway - October 30, 2019

Note that this snow had melted by November photo above

Click on collage to enlarge

Sometimes, I have wondered what is happening just out of view of the camera.  For example, check out the stance in this photo - doesn't it look like it sees something?  And the legs are pushed down and bent, as though it is ready to run off in the other direction.  Very different than the normal loping style.

Once the camera detects motion, it takes three shots in rapid succession, so at times I feel that I am watching a video as I flick through the photos.  (It reminds me of those flip books some kids used to make in school; a slightly adjusted image on each page, when flipped quickly, mimics motion.)  In this series of pictures, one coyote sits (patiently) in the background (look closely), while another paces (not so patiently?) on the driveway.  (Please note that I tried something new in this post - using Movavi photo editor to turn still photos into a "video".  Since I was not willing (yet) to pay for the full version, a watermark shows up on the video periodically - sorry for that.  I was looking for something that gives you the feeling of motion.  Let me know what you think of this and the other "videos" in this post.)

Does are so ubiquitous that I didn't bother to save any of their photos.  Not so with bucks.  They are so rare on the trail cam, it's enough to make me question where they all go in the winter.

The turkeys also have a disappearing act.  These shots were all taken on the same day in September, not to be repeated on either camera.  I can only assume that they head for lower ground with more plentiful food sources.  The first time I saw this series, it made me laugh out loud how they parade UP the driveway, and then DOWN the driveway.  

A feral cat also appeared on the camera several times, always on the driveway (sorry, I didn't keep any of those pictures).  In fact, most of these shots are from that set-up.  It surprises me - wouldn't the animals prefer an area that is protected by the cover of trees and bushes?  Perhaps the driveway offers an easier path with snow made shallower by the sun.  Only they know!

The following series shows three coyotes in one of the shots - very unusual based on the time I have been monitoring this site.  Were they comparing notes?  Preparing to hunt together?  Coyotes normally hunt alone or in pairs and rarely as a pack, unless the prey is a deer or other large animal.   

One                                                                         Two (in trees)                                                       Three 

As winter continues, I think about the struggle for survival for all of these animals.  Were these coyotes running after something or FROM something? 

In the following shot from March 1, the coyote certainly looks healthy and well-fed.  In Northwestern Montana, coyotes can become prey to bears, wolves, mountain lions, and other coyotes, not to mention man.  In past posts, I have shown a picture of a wolf in almost the exact same location as the shot below.  

And lest you think I joke about mountain lions … this brings me to the highlight of this post.  The following pictures show the mountain lion crossing the driveway at a point that would be directly behind the coyote in the picture above.  I know that mountain lions live in this area, having seen other trail cam pictures and having walked along a path left by a mountain lion dragging a deer for a half a mile.  Somehow, seeing these pictures from a trail camera that I placed and that I check regularly, is an extraordinary moment. 

January 27, 2020 - 6.13 AM

 ******

Happy Easter, everyone!  I have been working diligently on my attitude the last few days, and participating in Holy Week Masses via live stream has certainly helped.  At times like this I also turn to Christian music, and I was struck once again by the words to the song Indescribable by Chris Tomlin. 

"You see the depths of my heart and You love me the same."  What peace this brings to my heart and soul.  The ultimate Gift that keeps on giving.  I pray that you are finding peace and encouragement during these tough times.

Mosaic Monday

Welcome to Mosaic Monday, a weekly meme where we get together to share our photo mosaics and collages.
Please include at least one photo mosaic/collage in your post.
The link will be open from 1 p.m. Sunday until 11 p.m. Monday (U.S. Mountain time).
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Please link back to this post so that your readers will be able to visit and enjoy more wonderful mosaics; taking the MM blog button from my sidebar is an easy way to link back.
As host I will visit every participant and leave a comment so that you know I stopped by.
Please try and visit as many other blogs as you can, especially those that join in later, so that everyone's creativity can be appreciated fully.
Thank you for joining in today and sharing your mosaics with us. 

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