Ice, Ice Baby

You might not be that curious about the ice formations, but we had to document this for posterity. Again, above is the stalagmite we grew from the slow leak in the new heated hose when the temperature dropped to One Degree.

 

(Update: It's been fixed, and fortunately it was just an untightened connection, not a flaw in the hose itself. Whew!)

Turns out it was all hanging by a thread. Literally!

Get yer Christmas Spirit going

We have lights strung up outside, and it was time get those gingerbread houses started.

One night for construction, one night for decoration. Check that chore -- oh, I mean, fun thing -- done!

Games they play

Smokey and Cinder are so close in looks that we need the colored collars to tell them apart more easily.

The game is called Walk the Plank. Smokey and Cinder force Juice to the end of the ironing board (which has not seen an iron on it in a loooooong time!), and the giant crocodile in the water below is played by Zinky. Such fun!

Freezing our flanks off!

We resolved the issue of barn feeders recently, so all critters have a dedicated spot to eat. Good thing, because food is the #1 way they keep warm. And it has been a cold few days around the Valley....Abnormally cold....

....We've-got-frost-on-our-butts cold!

Mommy and Daddy worked on the weekend to install a new wiz-bang heated hose across the front of the barn so that Jake & Arby can have their own automatically-filled, heated trough (ahem, let's just say it's more like a bathtub!). During the process, the animals all had to be moved to the opposite end of the barnyard for safety's sake. The horses were happy to comply - notice enticement of hay all over the place. But MamaLlama and the goats were not thrilled. After downing their bribe of pellets, they wanted back in their stall, dangit!

Couldn't get very good pics while struggling to hold the ladder, hold the heavy hose, hand up tools, dance around to keep warm, and pray Daddy didn't come tumbling down in the frozen barnyard.

We did finally git'er done, but there is a leak in the hose. Nice, eh? All installed and then we learn this. Made for an interesting stalagmite. (Pay no attention to all those wires and extension cords and stuff. We're just completely sure it's totally safe to mix water and electricity like this.....ay yi yi....gulp)

Smokey

Went looking for him, concerned he might be making mischief. Found him in the middle of the sock pile.

And upon returning from chores and wishing to wash my hands, he was commandeering the sink.

Home for Snow Day

Mommy was on a business trip all week and made it home just barely in time to beat a big snow storm. Sure was nice to be safe and snug with family. We had put up some Christmas lights the weekend before, and this is what we see out the back side of the house. These are the old-fashioned type of lights, which really glow wonderfully.

Juicy-Bear is curious about what it's like outside, but he wants nothing to do with going out into it.

Miri, on the other hand, was all about going outside! She offered to help Mommy with the morning feeding.

It was quite a trek.

The pond was very snowy and pretty. Later in the day, the top was completely frozen over.

This is the fountain in front of the house. We managed to find a few extra horse trough heaters to put in it, hoping to stave off the bone-chilling cold on its way to us tonight. Too many days of freezing temps is pretty hard on things around here. We're kinda used to temperate conditions. (Yes, wimps is probably the right phrase.)

They loved getting suited up for more play outside. (Mommy would have taken more pics, but she was flat in bed the first day due to a bad cold.)

Loved how the light made their skin and eyes look.

On the map!

 

Mommy was on a business trip to the HP Boise site, and while on a tour of some of the things they have here, she was very excited to see that our beloved little hometown of PR is right there, on the map. The title of the map is "Pulp & Paper Mills of the US and Canada". Yes, she proudly pointed it out to the people in the tour:

I AM FROM HERE.

 

(Apologies for the terrible quality photo. I will simply claim I was shaking with thrills. Also, I'm a really bad photographer!)