2010 but no blue moon!

The weather didn't cooperate for me to get a moon shot, but I did get some interesting stuff; it's snowing lightly, but the lights of town are visible and glowing softly.

I went out to the horse pens; Beamer was quite happy to have a midnight visitor,

even if I didn't whisper sweet nothings in his ear.

My new camera does a little better at night shots than the last one; this photo isn't edited:

So I played with Beamer for a bit, and saw some fireworks, too far away to be interesting, and it's off to sleep for me- hope you all had a great evening!

Once in a lifetime

From Space Weather- check this out!

BLUE MOON ECLIPSE: On Dec. 31st, the Blue Moon will dip into Earth's shadow for a partial lunar eclipse. The event is visible from Europe, Africa and Asia: map. At maximum eclipse, around 19:24 Universal Time, approximately 8% of the Moon will be darkly shadowed. Click on the image to launch an animated preview:

Blue Moons are rare (once every ~2.5 years). Blue Moons on New Year's Eve are rarer still (once every ~19 years). How rare is a lunar eclipse of a Blue Moon on New Year's Eve?

A search of NASA's Five Millennium Catalogue of Lunar Eclipsesprovides an approximate answer. In the next 1000 years, Blue Moons on New Year's Eve will be eclipsed only 11 times (once every ~91 years). So this is a rare event, indeed.

Wordless Wednesday

The one that got away

The mighty hunter Foose came a prancin' across the corral this morning, wearing a mouse mustache, and dropped it over by the chute to play with it.

In this photo, the mouse is trying to punch Foose out.

The mouse didn't reappear, and Foose moved on to check out the other spots on his "trapline".

Something old, something new

Well, my husband went shopping on boxing day.... not like last year, when we took mom to the mall in Calgary, which was a really stupid thing to do on one of the busiest shopping days of the year.... no, we found an ad hanging on a bulletin board at a local gas station, and we agreed that we didn't need this item, and left- but when it comes to antiques at a good price, well, my husband has a weak spot. So a little later out he goes and this is what he came back with, and it fit perfectly beside the tree.

It'a a lovely piece, and a perfect spot for the old clock and antique lamp, both of which didn't have a good place before. It also houses our CD collection. The top drawer is full length- 67 inches long- and will probably hold a few papers and small treasures.

I had fun taking photos with my new camera yesterday, and Beamer was happy to show off for me.

Such a ham!

And so photogenic, not like me.

We don't have much snow yet, but I'm sure that will change,there is snow and mild weather in the forecast for most of the week.

Another great thing was getting my passport in the mail on Christmas Eve- now that was a great gift!

I'm really looking forward to being able to go to the States and hope to visit some of my fellow bloggers next year- at least the ones in Washington and Idaho.

Sunday Stills- odds 'n' ends

Odds and ends was the challenge this week.

Odd- can anyone tell me if they've ever seen a bit like this, and how it was used? Here is another view.

Also in the odd file, can you tell me what this next item is used for? (Hint- if you're from Germany, you probably know!)

And in the "end" file; how's this for a fine end?

But this year brought it's sadness too, and I leave you with another end, my mother's funeral.

My daughter had just laid a carnation on the casket, and we sprinkled holy water too.

For Beamer fans

Beamer got a Christmas present......

He loves the mint flavor the best.

He got turn out time without his blanket today because it was warm enough......

Oh yeah!

Which of course meant he had to roll.......

And play........

And pose.......

Is this my good side?

Or this side?

B-boy, you don't have a bad side!

So, after an hour or so, it started cooling off, and it was time to blanket him again and bring him in.

Do I hafta?

Christmas Eve at our place

The tree is trimmed,

the baking is done.

The presents are wrapped,

the wood stove is crackling.

The chores are all done,

the creatures are curled up at my feet-

Foose! he's outside with a mouse.

Beamer and the girls are munching their hay.

We are getting ready

to go to Mass,

visit some friends,

and just relax.

Beamer has something to say:

Merry Christmas, everyone!

Back! With camera!

Didya miss me?

Sunday night when my husband got home, he informed me he'd lost my camera, but not to worry, he bought me another one; a Sony Cybershot 12 megapixels. Only thing is it took over 5 hours to charge the battery and I had to buy a memory stick for it. Monday bright and early my brother and I headed to Kamloops to visit my dad, who has Lewy Body Dementia. I managed to get some shopping done, including the memory stick, and Tuesday we spent the whole day with dad. It was a wonderful day, and possibly the last Christmas I'll spend with him- he'll be 82 in the spring.

Dad loves dogs, and they love him. I took Reba with me and she had a blast playing with dad's 2 dogs. We had a good dinner and dad opened his gifts, libations were consumed, and a good time was had by all.

Travelling there is about an 8 or 9 hour trip, depending on which way you go, so it's not one that I make often, but I hope to go back for his birthday in April.

So, since I have a camera again and I missed Sunday Stills, here are, as promised, some pics of my tree, all decorated.

I used all clear lights and red and gold for color.

I love to have birds on my tree, and not a lot of the usual balls and garlands- no garland, in fact!

Gotta have some western ornaments too!

The tree, and no camera!

For those who wanted to see my tree, here is a photo- albeit a poor one. I only have my camcorder to take stills with until tomorrow, when Ted gets back with my camera.

For some reason the photos come out all grainy, as you can see in the post below. I tried every setting but this is the best I could get. So my Sunday Stills Challenge photos will be posted later in the day tomorrow, after I get my camera back- I'll show you what the tree looks like decorated!

And the winner is......

I put all the names on a piece of paper; and cut them and folded them and put them in the hat;

I tried to get a little help from Foose to draw the name.

Not my job!

OK, Tess- maybe you can help?

Not my job either!

So I shook the hat and one by one the names popped out, until there was only one left.

Tess is making sure that there is only one left- and that one is..........

Prairie Runner! Linda, you can claim your prize - I'll email Kit and let her know that you won, and a Merry Christmas to you and Bossman!

I went hunting....

And bagged my tree! I finally got a chance to get my Christmas tree today. I took my dogs and went for a walk up a steep hillside and after trudging around for a while, there it was- the perfect Balsam Fir tree, just waiting for me to take it home! That's how I like to do it, spend some time out in the bush, getting to see the deer tracks and where they had bedded down, looking out over the valley at the beautiful scenery, and watching two happy dogs romp through the snow. And you should smell how beautiful it is in my home with the tree in the living room! Sorry, no photos as my husband absconded with my camera this week, so I'm trying to get decent ones on my cell phone. Then I gotta figure out how to get them on my computer.......

Still looking for more entries in my Christmas Giveaway in the post below- come on folks, it's a great gift, cause you get to pick it!

Christmas Giveaway Contest

Hey everyone, its giveaway time again! I wanted to do something for my loyal readers, and at the same time support some of the wonderful talent of our fellow bloggers. I've really enjoyed the photos over at Gizzards and Calf Fries, and know that Kit has a business selling prints, notecards, mouse pads, mini framed photos, etc.-so I am offering a $30 gift certificate to Crazy M Photography; the winner can pick out whatever you like, and Kit is kicking in to pay the shipping.

Here's the catch- (you knew there had to be one, right?) You have to leave a comment telling us about someone who makes Christmas special, whether for you or for someone else.

Contest closes Saturday at 9 A.M. my time (Mountain Standard Time). I will draw for the winner.

Grab a box of Kleenex and listen....

I first heard this song at a Christmas Concert in Turner Valley, Alberta, performed by pastor Paul Rumbolt, and it silenced the noisy, drinking crowd; there was not a dry eye in the place when he was done. This video is performed by the man who wrote it, John McCutcheon. I send this out to all the families who have sons and daughters who are serving their country, far away from home, and for all the soldiers who won't be home for Christmas.

A couple of new blogs

There are a couple of new blogs I'd like to mention. There is Cheeky Mare at Jump on and Ride, who lives in Belize, and Crystal at Ranch Riding who lives in Alberta and probably wishes she lived in Belize right now with all the super cold weather they are getting. Stop by and say howdy!

Sunday Stills- Technology

I must admit that I wasn't going to do this one, because photographing gadgets just isn't my thing; but then I thought of something that is run by technology and is very helpful:

These signs are used for everything from road conditions to Amber Alerts to PSA's- like this one:

A Tale of a Mouse....and a Donkey... and Day 2 at School

I brought Chickory out and tied her at the hitching rail; that is when I noticed Foose pawing at some grass. Grabbed the camera and this is what Foose was looking at:

Silly mouse was hiding under a leaf.

C'mon, lets play!

Mice are very aggressive when they are scared- it is leaping at the very jaws of death here! I grabbed Foose and put him in the house, I figured any mouse that brave deserved to live; at least until Kitty Bob finds it!

Meanwhile, Chickory was waiting.... I sacked her out again with the saddle pad, and put the saddle on her, led her around with it uncinched, then gently cinched it. She was calm with that, and I flopped the stirrup leathers, let the stirrups bump her sides, etc. all of which was fine- she was more interested in getting a mouthful of grass.

Day two in big girl school went well. Now I need to find a round pen to work her in. I can use the indoor arena where I go team sorting, they have public riding once a week, so that might be my best option for her. No round pen, though.

She will be two years old at the end of April. I'm happy with how stout she is , just need her to get a little taller.

I went over to get some eggs, and got to visit with Poco the baby donkey- remember him? He's just over two months old now, and has plenty of donkitude!

His fur is so thick and woolly, you wonder how he can see!

It was hard to take his photo because he had to check me out !

Eye can see just fine, thanks!

Papa, mama and baby. Too cute!