Sprinkles of Sunshine

Oh the sprinkles of sunshine that we have had ... they have been glorious!  When you wake up, and the world around you is just shimmering and dancing in every direction you look... even when the temperatures are in the minuses... it doesn't matter... I heard that voice calling "come outside and join the party"....  no matter how cold it is!

My son agreed to be my chauffeur so that we could take a drive and enjoy the beauty of the day.  We left the dogs at home, and as you can see by their faces... they thought it was just criminal that I was leaving them home!

They kept hoping that we would change our minds, if they looked sad enough!

The remarkable sunshine-y day was leaving its mark everywhere we went.  The water was smooth as glass, and the reflections of the mountains, snow, and clouds were brilliantly displayed.

The roads were quite treacherous, as you can see.  There was a thick layer of ice on the roads, covered with powdery snow, not the happiest road conditions to have.  My son drove slowly, which gave me time to snap more pictures!

The beauty of it all almost takes your breath away... and with it being so cold outside... literally it was breathtaking!

The lake was trying to freeze over.  I've not seen this much ice buildup on this lake since we've been here, but then... it had never been this cold here either in the last few years that we had been living here.

As we headed toward our property, the road there consists of a very steep incline with sharp turns, curves, and a steep climb for the entire 1/2 mile or so of incline.  The snowplows had done their job very well, and there was sand on the road, so we made the steep climb without any problems.

As we got close to our property, we saw that some visitors had been caught trespassing!

Some were in a hurry to leave...

And some could care less.... in fact they were strutting around as if they owned the place...

I'm not sure what you call a group of turkeys... a herd? a bunch? I don't know.... but we have a lot of turkeys that like to frequently visit our property, and today we were lucky enough to catch them passing through.  Most of the time, we just see their tracks, and never can get close to them.  It was a real treat today to be able to see them up close.

It's a good thing for them Thanksgiving has passed.... and hunting season is over... or one of them might have found their way into a steaming pot of soup!

A peek into our property with the shimmering layer of snow covering it all.

Bye-bye Mrs. Turkey.... come visit again soon!

We continued on our way after the turkeys had left.  The sun had begun to slip back behind the clouds, much to my dismay.  I was hoping the rays of sunshine would have lasted a bit longer, but it was not to be so...

I love these two red barns tucked back in the hills against the mountains.

I don't know, but there is just something about the beauty of a red barn that always catches my eye!

Driving on these ice covered roads was slow going, which meant that I kept snapping pictures... sorry to bore you... but you can see that the view in every direction showcased the mountains that I love... and I just couldn't help myself!

I must remember to do something about cleaning these windows!  It is not cool to have windshield wiper marks marring the pictures of these beautiful mountains! I think it is a job is within the rank and calling of my son, what with his long arms can easily be able to reach and clean the hard to reach areas... so must put that on the New Year's chore list!

It was time to get back to the house and get busy with more important things than snapping pictures, and enjoying the sunshine.... but we sure enjoyed the sunshine while it lasted, even if just for a short while!