It is a warmer day today. It actually feels nice, but what feels even better is knowing that TODAY IS THE LAST DAY OF FEBRUARY! Hurrah! Do the happy dance! Yes, I know it will get below zero and it will snow and we’ll see freezing rain, but it will be in March and we will also see temperatures rise and ground beneath our feet. Doors will open and close again. One day we’ll realize we made it through another winter. Hats off to all those pioneers that didn’t have heat or indoor plumbing. But on the same note, why did some of our relatives settle here to begin with? Ah…my guess is they showed up in May.

So many tracks, so little time. The fresh new snow has provided proof of little critters for Duke to chase.

Every now and then when the snow blows in from a different direction, it gets through the cracks in the Oak Barn.

Back below zero. One of these days it won’t be like this.

I wonder who’s footprints these are. I guess someone decided to ride the swing.

Good Morning! The Oak barn horses checking me out. Royce what do you do with the halter and lead rope every night?

As soon as we’re consistently above 40 and below 80, I will stop posting pictures of the temperature.

Okay, so he’s spoiled. Tabu eating in rough board.

This is exciting. It is 10 minutes to 6 pm and I see the sun rise.

And after the sun rises, it also sets.

Duke checking things out before we go in for the night.

The big storm with the freezing rain and eight inches of snow—finally they were wrong—one of them missed us. I’m guessing we got about an inch, and yes, it is snowing, but nothing like I imagined. Sorry horses. I didn’t mean to keep you in for nothing.

This particular morning I’m tired. I’m tired of the cold, the snow, the darkness. Let’s just say I could use a few more hours of sleep and wake up in warmer weather. It’s okay to be tired of this. I know we’ll keep plugging along, one day at a time, but some days just seem a little longer than they should be.

Although it doesn’t look so scary, rumor has it we will get rain, followed by freezing rain, followed by 5-8 inches of snow. Hmm…. a day to keep the horses in.

Here is just a small sampling of the horses that will stay indoors today. This is Cowboy, he’s letting me know that hay delivered in his stall is always a good thing.

Faline agrees.

Stetson is a little suspicious, but he wants to run and play. This blue-eyed baby turned two yesterday and he’s feeling all grown up. Happy Birthday Stetson!

Safire’s birthday was two days ago, on February 23rd. I really don’t know how old she is. Perhaps someone will send me a comment and let me know.

Here are the two cuties. This mother and daughter team would much rather be outside. They feel a little over protected.

And then there’s Monty, who is such a poser. He sees a camera and knows that he must be involved. Love this horse!

Some interesting ice is forming outside the arena.

Is it dangerous or….

Is it art. You decide.

Although it is a chilly start, today is going to be a beautiful day. The sun will shine and the temperatures will get above the freezing mark. I know that is not always a good sign, but it is the end of February and we do have a lot of ice. You would think things would get better…but wait…until tomorrow….when we will have yet another winter storm. “What?” You say, “how could this be?” Hmmm…well, rain, freezing rain, 4-7 inches of snow. Stay tuned and see what happens.

In spite of how awful the weather is, the views sure are beautiful.

I thought I would throw in a tire swing picture.

Athena gets her first taste of an apple and she likes it.

In spite of how it looks right now, believe it or not, it is going to be a beautiful, sunny, 25 degree day.

The sun rising to give us that added warmth.

Chuck pointed out this great picture of the neighbor’s farm.

Suddenly, every direction I turned had some beauty. This Oak tree out in the pasture was split in two during a major storm this Summer. Some of the wood is heating my brother’s house.

What great light and shadows from these trees.

Later we took a walk and found more beauty.

And more.

Chuck and Athena saying “good morning.”

Singing, “Getting to know you.”

Best friends.

Saying their good-byes.

A regular heat wave.

This Oak tree really is spectacular. I can’t wait to show it to you in the Spring.

Looking for some interesting things to take a picture of while walking around in the dark.

Yes, it really is a cold day. I can honestly say I’M TIRED OF THIS!

Cold breakfast for Bullseye.

And Tabu…I’m really sorry that I forgot yesterday was his birthday. On the 20th, Tabu was 3 years old. Happy Birthday Tabu!

This evening Maddy had Athena out in the arena away from her mother. I just couldn’t get over how much she’s grown. Here’s Athena on the day she was born.

This is Athena 69 days later. Just a little over two months.

Here she is at 13 days.

And now….Yikes! (Yes, I know, my lens is dirty).

Hmmm….another beautiful day in the neighborhood. But wait, tomorrow it will be colder.

If you look closely, you’ll see Duke walking into the setting moon. Yes, that large round ball of light is the moon. I’m sorry that I can’t really capture what everything looks like in the full moon. The snow glistens and the frozen trees shine. Okay, okay, there is the pain of the cold. I won’t get too romantic.

So now we get to see the moon rise. When I first saw the moon this evening it almost took my breath away. I had to put Spring in her stall, but I knew the minute I was done, I’d pull out the camera. I was amazed at how fast the moon was rising. I thought to myself, you know, if I didn’t have horses to put away on this -15 degree evening, I might have missed this view. And that would have been a shame.

So you’re wondering, why would she take a picture of a hose. I looked at this disconnected hose this morning and it brought back memories of my daily summer ritual of setting up the sprinkler before I would begin my morning chores. For those of you who remember what summer is all about, below are a few photos—compliments of the hose.

Our beautiful basil.

More herbs for us and our culinary friends.

Here are the tomato plants trying to take over the world. They did a pretty good job.