Happy Christmas

 The weather outside is frightful ... well maybe not but it is cold! There was an awful snowstorm a few days ago that piled up a lot of vehicles on the freeway, but roads here were no problem for us ole snow plow operators!

We have been below - 20 Celcius for about a week now. The barn cats are snugged up and thriving, I take them fresh water twice a day. The kittens are getting big now and lost their interest in milk, so water it is for them 

Timbits, the male kitten, is very friendly.

The grey mare has settled in with the herd fairly well. Gussie still bosses her at feeding time but overall they get along; Velvet of course buddied up with her right off the bat. Which probably made Gussie jealous!

I got ahold of the people who raised her and had her until she was 15 as I wanted to know her foaling history and what her original barn name was. 

She has 12 registered foals, and 1 more that will be registered, but from 2021 to 2024 nothing- she may have had a couple paint foals with her 2nd owners. So she is currently on at least foal #14. 

Her barn name was Appy 😑 which doesn't work for me as it is slang for Appaloosa and she sure is not an Appy! So I modified it... 

Her name is Happy!

I am happy with Happy, she is a sweet mare and hey- Happy Christmas to me! She is my Christmas gift to myself. 

I had a nice Christmas visit with my sister M, and the rest of my family is all spread out having family Christmas visits. We all live so far apart now, we will probably never have one of those large family Christmas gatherings we had back before everyone went their separate ways. A lot of precious memories there!

So to all my blog friends, may you all have a blessed Christmas, my prayers go out to those who are having health problems or are lonely this season. 

Ready or not....

 Getting there ....

Christmas checklist:

Baking- almost done

Viennese crescents and chocolate chip cookies. 

Most of those will go in the freezer to be brought out if we have company. 

Tree is up... 

I went with green and white this year. Thanks, Shayla, for the tree!

Pretty tree angel

Beamer clock is decorated

We have been back in the deep freeze the last few days-  we had a short reprieve on Dec. 10th so took the opportunity to set the mares up with a new bale, they went 5 weeks on their last one.

New bale! Lets go see!

I set this one up with a half bale feeder around it so they don't destroy it like the last one- this one should last a little longer. 

This is really nice hay! It is mare approved. 

I love this photo! The light, the action, Gussie's breath....

Those old mares are in fine shape, they have a lot of room to move, a hill to climb for their morning grain, unlimited hay and winter grazing. They are holding their weight well and the cold doesn't seem to be bothering them. I prefer not to blanket, unless it is cold, wet and windy, and even then I could open up the barn for them. 

Well insulated with snow blankets

Snowflakes adorning Velvet's beautiful mane

So  other than a bit more baking, and maybe some Christmas shopping (I detest those crowded stores!) I think we are ready! Are you?

The Cold Moon

 December's full moon lived up to its name. The temps plummeted back to -20 C and brought a little bit of snow along with the biting south wind . 

The mares were wearing their blankets of snow and eagerly awaiting their breakfast.... although they have hay 24/7 so no fasting involved!

The moon was still hanging in the north western sky as I donned my winter layers- note to self, time to bring out the down chore parka- and I took a photo from the warmth of the house; nice to have those new clear windows!

The barn cats are faring well, they too eagerly await their milk and the kibble that I mix canned meat into.  Little Timbits is always the first to chow down, and seems to like being petted. 

Meanwhile, it is Christmas baking time! I made my sister's recipe for Old English Fruit Cake again this year. I like that it has orange juice, cocoa and coffee in it. 

Pre baking

I used the remainder of the oranges after squeezing their juice to make a healthy Christmas tea, with ginger, whole cloves, cinnamon stick and cardamom seeds. The place smells great!

That should keep me going for a few days!

Since it is too cold to do much outside, more baking is on the agenda. Viennese Crescents are my go to Christmas cookie, and if I can find candied peel I will make Florentines too. Apparently the big chain stores think nobody does Christmas baking any more. They may be right, it seems to be beginning to be a lost art. 

Wishing all a happy Christmas

 

Making to best of it

 Two more days until solstice! Although I am looking forward to the longer days to come I am enjoying the low horizon sunsets at evening chore time. Evening being anywhere from 3:30 to 4 pm....  Anyway, cold or not it's always a boost to the spirit to see this kind of sunset:

Gussie decided to show off a bit but I had to dig in my pockets to find my phone so I only got the tail end of her silliness. 

Looks like she was quite chuffed with herself! Those lips though....

The mares are wintering well so far, they barely clean up the hay I put out and are still pawing out in the winter pasture.  

Next week it warms up a bit so I will do my annual equine Christmas photo shoot then. Meanwhile here is my tree all decorated finally, and some of my fave ornaments.  

The loon carved and painted by Connie and Gene (Far Side of Fifty)

Who, me? Steal the cat food? noooo...

A Yoda owl?

One must have horses...

and dogs

I have set up my Nativity set under the tree too. Now to get my Christmas shopping done... oops. 

'Tis the season....

 What's Christmas without a Beamer photo shoot? 

All decked out in his ribbons

Hoping the girlz will notice...

Oh girrrrlz, where are you?.... 

(They ran down to the pasture)

Hello handsome!

Come baaaack....
(He rolled and left his mane ribbons in the snow)

This morning we were blessed with a spectacular sunrise. Such a warm day too!  

Here's hoping all those of you who are travelling to be with loved ones and family will have a safe journey. Many blessings for all those who don't have family or are shut ins and spend Christmas alone. 

God bless you all!

Merry Christmas everyone!

Christmas 2022

 The wintry blast we have endured for the past week has abated somewhat. Instead of -37C we made it to -21 yesterday  and much warmer coming for the next week. 

The mares have gone from having hair sticking up to having snow blankets again.

I find it fascinating to see how nature takes care of it. When we lived in Creston we didn't have these drastic swings of temperature and weather conditions. Freezing rain in the forecast for today! 

We are all ready for Christmas. Nature did a little decorating for us on the kitchen window....

Who needs fake snow for the windows when you have the real thing!

A vertical shaft of sunlight decorating the sky at sunset

Tomorrow we head up to see Ted's dad and family, so today, I wish all my blog readers a truly blessed Christmas. I hope you all stay safe and warm, and are surrounded by loved ones. For those who have lost loved ones this year, may your hearts find peace. 

Ornaments

 

Christmas, 2022

Some of my ornaments are because of childhood memories, such as this one:

As a child, we had glass ornaments and although this one is resin, it's very much like the glass apple core  on the tree of my childhood. (We had a pear core too). All our possessions but for a couple of items were lost when our house burned down in 1969.

This little brass trumpet is one I put to honour my daughter, who played trumpet in school band. It always goes near the top of the tree. 

This hand carved loon is the work of Connie and Gene from Far Side of Fifty blog; they hand carve and paint ornaments every year and give several of them away through the blog. It's one of my treasured ornaments. 😊 

This one was a gift from my dad and step-mom. My dad passed away 10 years ago, so this one is very special to me. 

For all the amazing border collies in my life.....

A Teddy bear for my husband Ted who is a shining star in my life.....

The cat and mouse just because it makes me smile! And because kitties are a big part of my life too.

Last but not least, the Cross of Christ, which is also the Star of Bethlehem. 

And there you have it, just some of the special ones that make my tree every year. 

Wishing you all Christmas blessings!