January Days . . .

I don't know about you, but these January days can seem very long.  Today, we had to run to town to get some shower cleaner, and ended up taking a day trip...not sure how that happened!

It does look dreary, but I promise, when we left the sun was shining!  Up in the Swan Valley and the Palisades area, it seems like there is always fog that settles into the valley and stays all winter.  You can see on the mountain where the fog lifted this afternoon and left the pine trees all covered in frost!

The reservoir was really as high as I have seen it in at least 20 years.  Until last year, we had many years with little snowfall and it just never filled up to capacity.  This year there is very little snow near Palisades, although they say that there is enough to keep it full for the next growing season...let's hope that the nearby mountains,  that also feed into Palisades,  have heavy snowfall this year. 

On our way home, we drove past Ririe Reservoir, I didn't get a photo, but,  you would usually see people ice fishing on the reservoir this time of year, today, there wasn't any ice on the reservoir.  The same with Palisades, no ice whatsoever!  We've had a very warm winter.

We did see a few deer, which didn't surprise me, they always stay near Ririe Reservoir and feed on the nearby grain fields.  They were a long ways away, but I could tell that they were fat and happy!

You can see how the fields are already turning green - and hardly any snow.  In fact, it was such a warm day that water was running down the side of the road like a creek.  I guess that's why they call it  - January thaw!

The sunset was really beautiful tonight on our way home...you know how I love my sunsets!  It was a perfect ending to a really nice day.

Well, after playing today . . . tomorrow, you will find me cleaning the shower...  :0)

Have a wonderful week-end!!

 Hugs and Love,

Barb

a Peek into my Week . . .

Something from my playlist . . .

Just a little something to get you thinking about Valentines Day . . . I love these old songs . . .

Mother Nature . . . It's white outside!  I love January, I really do!  When I was young I loved to go skiing, ice skating, snowmobiling, and all those things that I don't do anymore.  But, even though I'm not as young as I once was, there are still many things I love about winter.  I love to watch the snow fall, I love it when the sun shines on the snow, and makes it look like diamonds.  I love the blue and purple tones of the snow and the pink sunsets that just seem to melt into the night.  I love it when I can see my breath when I step outside,  I love it when Jack Frost leaves his artwork on my windows, and I think it's magical when it's foggy and snowy at the same time.  I love wearing sweaters and feeling all toasty under my down comforter.  I guess I could just keep going, but I think you get the gist . . .

On my Mind . . .  I have been thinking lately about my to do list, or lack thereof.  Everywhere I look I can see something that needs my attention, and I really need to quit procrastinating about getting things done.

Today, I had really good intentions, and then my sweet husband had a better idea.  He said, "Let's go for a ride!"  Well, I don't know about any of you, but when I hear those words, I'm putting on my coat and grabbing my camera!  We jumped in the truck and headed for the hills . . . literally!  This is what we saw . . .

These deer were very content to just watch us, they weren't scared or worried that I would do anything but tell them how pretty they were, and take their picture.  They were actually way out in a hay field, so I wasn't that scary.  This is just a few of them,  there were probably about 100 head in this herd.

It was just a beautiful day, and I was so lucky to be able to go out and enjoy the sunshine . . . I feel so much better!  I still need to work on my, to-do list, but there's always tomorrow, this was so much more important than organizing a closet, don't you think?

Comfort from the kitchen . . .  This cake hit the spot over the week-end.  I still was not feeling very good, but the smell of it baking in the oven, just rejuvenated me!

Applesauce Spice Cake

1 stick butter at room tempurature
2 cups all purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup sugar
3 large eggs
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup applesauce
1/4 cup sour cream
1/2 cup raisins
1/2 cup nuts

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  Prepare an 8 inch pan, by spraying with vegetable oil or butter and flour.  Sift together the dry ingredients and set aside.  With an electric mixer, beat butter until light, add the sugar and beat until fluffy.  Add the eggs, one at a time, beat until each is incorporated into the mixture.  Add the sour cream, vanilla and applesauce and beat until smooth.

Mix in the dry ingredients a little at a time until the batter is smooth and all the flour is incorporated, do not over-mix.  Stir in the raisins and the nuts ( I only used raisins, so I used a whole cup).

Pour batter into prepared pan and place on the middle rack in your oven.  bake for 30-35 min, until a toothpick comes out clean.  Remove the cake and let it cook for at least 15 minutes before enjoying!

Just Sayin' . . .

Have a wonderful week!

XXOO

Round 2 . . .

While we were on the river, we saw so much wildlife!  Bighorn Sheep seemed to appear out of the rock, deer were everywhere, elk made a nightly visit to our campsite, along with mice and mink.  I think a few naughty raccoon made nightly calls to the garbage cans, even though they were sealed, along with the many, many Magpie that seemed to be everywhere!  The elk were usually there every night, but we didn't always see them.  You could hear the cow elk talking to each other (they sounds like kittens), and we even heard the bulls bugling a few times, an amazing thing to hear!

Imagine hearing that in the early morning hours, when it was still dark outside!

All of us had at least one mouse in our trailer - thank goodness for mousetraps! The little buggers were brave and very sneaky, always eating the peanut butter or chocolate off of the trap, without being caught!  Hopefully, we didn't bring any home with us!

 This guy was very majestic, I love the way they just blend in with the background!

Here he is with his a few of his ladies, it was mating season, so you always saw these big fellows with one or more ewes!

This big guy was quite the show-off, and loved having his picture taken . . . he posed for every shot!

These are all different sheep, they were just everywhere!  He was so beautiful!

 This old boy and his, "harem", were licking the salty soil in this particular area.

There are lots of, Chucker, along the river and this one was making quite the chatter!  He jumped up on the rock, so I snapped a picture of him.  People come from everywhere to  hunt these birds, but I like hunting them with my camera.

These beautiful little, Mule Deer were watching us as we packed up to come home, they were right across from us on a steep mountainside.  You can see how beautifully they bled in with the landscape.

As we were leaving, we saw these elk near a cabin, there were about 20 of them just grazing along the road.

I love taking pictures of all of these beautiful animals, it sure makes me appreciate my life, and the freedoms that we are afforded here in this beautiful country!  

Until next time!

XXOO,

Hunting . . . with my Camera!

It truly has been a fun month of camping, working, spending time with friends and family and loving nature!  You can tell that summer is coming to an end, all the grass is golden, and Mother Nature is getting ready for winter.  This beautiful country just keeps pulling us back!

And, who knew that Ladybugs, were hatched under rocks!

We saw so much wildlife this trip, I felt like I was hunting, but thank goodness, it was with my camera!  This beautiful little mule deer was about one-half mile away when I took her picture, so it was kind of fuzzy.  I applied an oil painting effect from, PhotoScape, and I love the way it turned out!  I may just make a print of it, I love it so much!

This is a cute little White-Tail deer.

These are, Sandhill Cranes, they are so shy, I was lucky to get this picture without them flying away!

More deer, and as you can see in the pictures, fences don't bother them one bit!  Another long shot, early in the morning so the sun was really messing up my shot!

I love moose . . . I think she liked having her picture taken!

These next pictures are of a huge herd of elk that we saw right by our camp.  They were about 700 yards away, so some of the shots are fuzzy.  There were more than 100 elk in this herd.  The last shot is of the lead cow, her baby and the another cow who would be next in line to be the lead.  They were just beautiful! While we were watching them you could hear them talking to each other, they sound like kittens . . . it was amazing!

 

The summer really has slipped away from us!  The kids here will be starting school on the 20th, and then before we know it it will be Christmas . . . oh my!!  See you soon!

Hugs,