A Real Snow Storm - Sequim Style

We got a real snow storm the other day. I say real, because on occasion, you'll look out and we'll have five minutes of those beautiful white, puffy flakes. Then it stops.  This time though, well look:

I need to learn how to use photoshop so I can do something about the dog derriere in the picture, but isn't it beautiful? (The snow, not the dog butt!) I just love the snow here because, as my Quincy friends say, "You can shovel that with a spatula!" And its true...if I wanted to shovel--which I don't!

The boys thought it was great too.  A little too bright for Dash who could barely keep his eyes open.

And Cash (a.k.a. Moose), whose intent focus is on Dash. Cash has the most herding instinct of any of our Border Collie I've ever owned. Whenever they're outside, Moose herds Dash--or tries to.

And finally, a picture of both boys in my studio.  Used to be that Dash was the only one that wanted to come in. Now they both do, but they're on their rug and being adorable. How can I resist??

Murder Mystery

The victim:

The suspect:

Irrefutable evidence:

You decide: Guilty or Innocent

My Granddaughter Comes for a Visit

 Over the 4th, our granddaughter was here for a visit. My step-daughter, Hannah, and her boyfriend were up to enjoy the music festival, so Violet stayed with us. She's such a joy to have around and is absolutely no trouble. She plays with the boys, avoids Chloe, and they all have a grand time.

We go for a 2-4 mile hike every morning (depends on which route we take); Violet loved the hikes and even taught the boys to swim! These ponds are up behind our property and are usually dry by now, but with the heavy snowfall in the mountains, they're still quite full. She went in just to swim around and again after a stick. Dash watched, but he was none too sure about the whole process.

Later, on the last day of her visit, we took her out for a ride with the pones. What a site we must have been...three  Border Collies running around and a Pitt Bull following along. She had a great time and seemed to enjoy meeting Andy!

All in all, it was a perfect weekend!!

I know its only October, but Christmas is coming!

And this year, I'm finally able to get Dennis something he'll love! My friend Debbie told me about a Tanya Amberson who does animal paintings and then donates part of the profit to rescue agencies...now that is right up my alley. I've commissioned her to do a painting of Hank for Christmas. I sent her about a 1000 photos, which she narrowed down to these three. I choose one, she paints it with whatever background I choose, Dennis has an awesome present, and a rescue makes some money. Its a win, win!!



The hardest thing about the whole situation is that I can't tell him what I'm doing. Do you have any idea how hard it is to keep a secret from your best friend? I've had to stop myself twice already from telling him...I don't know if I can make it all the way to Christmas. *whine, whine*

A few years back I got him an antique schoolhouse clock from E-Bay; he'd been wanting one and I found it for a good deal. It was even in Reno, so I could pick it up. I had an elaborate ruse, we were going to meet the guy and pick it up (but he was just going to give me a small box with a rock in it) and my friend was going to pick up the real clock. I didn't want him guessing when he saw the box. It was perfect...until I said that we couldn't forget to pick up the clock while we were there. "What clock?" he says. So that year every present he opened until the "real" present was some sort of timepiece.

Wildlife Wonderland

Nothing about quilting, but I thought I would share about the beautiful place where I live; it is a wildlife wonderland. We have the normal wildlife, deer and skunks and squirrels and snakes, but we also have some less common. Every spring a pair of ducks and geese lay eggs in our pasture. They are in the outside pasture that the horses aren't allowed into until the grass is not quite so fresh, so the eggs are safe from being stepped on. There are two swallows who have a nest at the back of our shop porch...this makes entering and exiting quite the challenge. If you don't look first, you're likely to be dive bombed!

The other day when we went to get hay, the truck and trailer were parked on our main road about 20 feet from the house. Because its been so dry, there is a fine layer of dirt everywhere. I looked down and saw bear tracks....apparently, he'd been checking things out to see whether there was any good trash in the trailer. Of course, our ever present Border Collies had slept through the whole thing!


Later that night when we went down to feed, two Sandhill Cranes flew into the outside pasture about 30 yards from the horses. Sandhill Cranes make the most interesting noise...its very unique. The four adult pones were far more interested in the hay than the cranes, so they all started heading in.
Emma, however, is almost two and very curious. She started walking toward the cranes, who didn't move until she was about 20' away. Then they split up, so she followed one, closing the distance. When she was about 10' away, she looked over and saw that we were almost to the field with the hay so she ran as fast as she could toward the crane, turning at the last minute to come in and eat. I wonder if she was disappointed--the crane wasn't intimidated by her at all!