Aftermath

While we were in the big dig out of 2010 today, Casey enjoyed rolling in the snow. I'm sorta loving all this blizzard stuff . I really haven't been off the property for 6 days (except to pick up my son 5 miles away and that took some mad driving skills!).


Happy, happy dog!


I made a real rookie mistake though. After digging the path (again!) to the chickens last night, I left the snow shovel out by the barn, which is the opposite of my back door to the house where I really needed it. After all the wind and snow, we had 5' drifts exactly in the path to the barn.


This was yesterday, just a mere 20" on top of our previous 32" that pummeled us Saturday. This was looking out my sunroom window. It was kick ass blowing all day and night. It reminded me of my South Dakota, growing-up-on-the-prairie days when the wind blew and blew and blew. We had snow from October to April (the official day to get the ice houses off the river was April 15th!). We would make snow forts that we could that had different rooms that we could stand up in. We hauled our sleds up on to the roof of our house and careened down, which was really easy as the snow drifts buried our house. So this little storm is just like the olden days.


And then I read in the paper where 20" of snow on the roof is like having an African elephant hanging out on the rooftop. I grabbed my shovel, crawled out the window and shoveled that elephant right off the roof!


What makes this storm so easy to bear is that we have had electricity throughout the entire snowmegeddon. I LOVE electricity! I don't take it for granted and I love it when I flip a switch and a light comes on or when my food stays cold in the fridge, or that I can take a shower and do a load of laundry (although our dryer is broken, but no worries as we have our laundry hanging all over the house). You folks out there who have been without power for a week will not take your electricity for granted either. Life is just so much easier with power.


The day after snow-lamity. Looking out my sunroom window brought clear skies and white drifts.


Good-bye to another winter day. Just make the wind stop so I can sleep.

We're All in This Together

We got snow! Heaps of it!


It snowed for about 12 hours, then suddenly stopped, the sun came out and everything was all aglitter.


We now have paths dug everywhere, to the barn, to the garage, to the studio, to the garden shed where the birdseed is stored, all originating from the house where we were hunkered down during the storm.


Still have to get to the cars. I like these storms (as long as we have power... I LOVE electricity!) because we all have something in common.....a house full of toilet paper, bread and milk!

Snow Day

While feeding the sheep yesterday, I had to laugh at Cappucino (yep, Mocha's daughter) because she had snow on what looked like dreadlocks all around her face. She kept moving and I got photos like this one.


Then she behaved, I stepped back and got this one.



When I see the sheep in the fields, their heads are buried in the snow, rooting around for grass.


Brambles even had snow on her horns! Come on in guys and have some snow-free hay.

Captiol Evening

I met Houston, Garrett and Sara downtown DC the other night for an Oberlin event at the State Department. We gathered at the new bike station across from Union Station, where commuters can store their bikes for an annual fee. It's a beautifully shaped building, like a long, glass, football. About 100 bikes can be kept here, with the bikes safely stored under glass.


Who knew DC could be hip?


Houston comin' in from the cold.


The bikes are brought in and if the lower racks are filled, an upper rack is brought down, the bike locked in....


...and up it goes for the night. Awesome for DC for spending the million to put the 'Bike & Roll' in. Forward thinking.


Then it was off to the capitol for a meet & greet with other Oberlin grads and the president of Oberlin.


I'd never been to the Senate building and enjoyed looking up


and up


and down


and over


whoa! messocables


and through


and down.

Goodbye Mocha

Another sad day at Dancing Leaf Farm. My Mocha, Queen of the Field, has passed away. She lived a very rich life of 17 years here on the farm. She was my best buddy in the field, always by my side, so friendly and a bit needy. The last few years she was really skinny but ate all the time (I asked her what her secret was....exercise, exercise, exercise!!!) Sheep do have a hard time keeping weight on when they get older.
Sheep have a heirarchy and Mocha was at the top of the pecking (or butting) order. She demanded respect and she got it. After shearing, they have to set it up all over again because they don't recognize who was the leader after losing their coats, so they butt heads and the winner gets to be the queen. Mocha always won.


One spring I let all the sheep out into the fresh green grass. They behaved themselves for a couple hours, then started down the road, so back into the fenced field they went. But I got some great photos of Mocha in the tulips.


Here she is with Brambles, her BFF. Brambles is even older but still can kick butt. I dare say I may catch Brambles with a tear or two.


Mocha always had the most beautiful wool, until recently when all her energy went into trying to keep weight on.


After shearing I think she was grateful for getting her long wool coat off so she could frolic in the grass.


She was always in the front of the pack, making sure she got the grain or the pets and attention. Lately she'd become a bit annoying as she was basically attached to my leg while I was out doing my barn chores. I rather liked it though, but she did get in the way. I'd be carrying a bale of hay and there she'd be, underfoot making me trip. I don't have another sheep like her but maybe one of them will step up, relax and become my best farm friend. (bff)


During the last snow, making her way over to me, hoping for a snack.


Goodbye my sweet girl. I'll miss you.

Pastel

Last week 4 girlfriends and I took a 3-day pastel workshop in Chestertown. I took this same workshop last year and enjoyed it so much I wanted a repeat. Penny hosted all of us at her beautiful river home. Our first morning there we awoke to a light dusting of snow. It seemed the perfect 'painting' of white over the landscape, making for a pastel of its own.


The river is frozen, with just a channel in the middle that is still free flowing. One morning we were lucky enough to see 4 foxes skittering along the ice, scaring geese.




When we arrived it was in the high twenties, but warmed up to a balmy 35 by the time we left.




Three days of picking up beautiful pastels and applying to colored paper. Fun!


Pat is an experienced pastel artist and all her paintings showed it. She has such a great style.


She painted a view from her new home.


...and I painted a scene from a photo I took last summer in Maine of Peter making hay with his work horses. I still need to do some definition on the horses. I wanted a loose, free style.


On the way back to Penny's one night, we had to take a detour to see this amazing sunset. We have inspiration for future paintings.




This was a great way to start the new year, creating, spending time with girlfriends, drinking wine and telling fun stories. We are all so lucky.