Winter's Days are Numbered!

Indeed they really are.  We can see signs of spring everywhere here, in fact I have seen robins on my walk each morning this week!  The snow is melting and the wind has a whistle to it that sings of springtime.  Winter lingers, but spring is persevering. 

I have some more winter pictures to share with you, but we will be moving on to spring quite soon!

I finished my yo-yo project, and got it hung in my craft room. 
This made a great winter's evening project!

It took me a while to sew up 80 yo-yos, but I was thrilled with the finished result.  My thanks to my
sweet friend Jill who helped me get started with the yo-yos! 

 

One night before another winter storm came in, these glowering clouds spoke of the storm to come. 

 

Walking in the light of the sunset one evening, a glorious event to see!

These twin orphans have been coming to visit regularly. 

Annie-girl loving her walks in the snow.  

Snow makes all things beautiful, even this rather forlorn looking fence!

A winter wonderland!

Down at the river, I saw this eagle flying high in the sky.  I hoped he would come a little closer to me, but
alas, he chose not to.  Magnificent creatures they are! My camera lens was at its max zoom with this picture. 

The hoarfrost and ice sculptures along the river were stunning to see. 

This tree looked like a scene out of Narnia with the hoarfrost/ice melting away
as the sun shone on it, even though it was about 12 degrees outside.  

Looking across the river, this red barn caught my fancy! 

The ice sculptures along the river looked like little ice puppets dancing for joy! 

My husband and I took a drive up river.  We stopped to look at the water that is piped from a mountain spring
and comes out alongside the road.  Many people who live off grid depend on this free source of water that flows year round.

We went to visit the caverns at the Indian Reservation.  We've been here many times, but never during winter. 

We hiked through the snow to get to the caverns on the side of the mountain. 

The steps were encased in sparkling ice.  Since we weren't eager for a tumble,
we scrambled to get up inside the cave along the edge instead. 

Inside the cave, the dripping water had created these little ice statutes
everywhere... they were so unique looking!

The sound of dripping water was very loud, and echoed to where we could hardly hear each other speak.

Looking out on the world outside the cave.

I took a picture of this huge icicle, but definitely stayed away from it, it was huge
and would hurt if it happened to fall while you were under it! 

Underneath the huge icicle was this pile of ice that had created its own style of beauty
from each drop of water from the icicle. 

 

After our visit to the cave, we crossed back over the river, and drove back down the other side. 
It was a gorgeous day for a drive!

My husband and I took a quick trip to Texas last weekend to visit family there.  His family was having a family reunion, and there were several birthdays in my family that we got together and celebrated.  I was hoping to see some bluebonnets while we were there, but unfortunately, we were about a week or so too early to see any.  However, there were other flowers in bloom.

The mountain laurels were in bloom.  Unfortunately on the day I tried to take this picture,
the wind was blowing like crazy
and the picture is a bit blurry.  

Oh yes, we are in Texas!  Look at that traffic!  Bumper to bumper.
Thankfully my husband doesn't mind driving in the traffic. 

Jasmine blooming in my MIL's yard. 
Beautiful bright yellow drops of sunshine!

A gorgeous Texas sunset.  You can see the trees are still barren of leaves.  Some of the trees
were just starting to put on leaves while we were there. 

The Texas redbud trees were blooming out everywhere in gorgeous purple blooms.  

A closeup of the Texas redbud in bloom. 

We took a drive in the Hill Country looking for bluebonnets, and found none.  But I loved
this little scene alongside one of the back roads we traveled. 

I wonder what kind of patrol this wagon was used for in its day? It had weathered the years well! 

We found a field of longhorn cattle, and this particular handsome fellow stared at me for a bit,
long enough for me to get his picture before he galloped away. 

For my husband's family reunion, they were camping out along the river.
While everyone set up camp, I cooked dinner for them in the iron Dutch ovens. 

Just a simple soup mixed with a bit of smoke from the campfire, and
you have a delicious quick, and easy meal. 

Just go, indeed!  Sometimes you just need to pack up and go.  What a cute sign!

My brother's roses were in bloom, and I was thrilled to see them!  

A sweet 16 birthday for my niece and a big 4-0 birthday for my sister
were celebrated with our family. 

And an Easter egg hunt for the little ones.  

Always so relaxing to visit with family at my brother's home. 

Another gorgeous Texas sunset. 

And before we knew it, it was time to fly back home... Southwest of course. 
We love flying with Southwest.  

 

My garden sits covered in a deep blanket of snow... waiting for spring!

My chickens are waiting on spring too!  They've braved the cold snow to get out of the coop, although
they let me know they are not too happy about it, lol! 

Spring is coming here, I can feel and smell it in the air.  Snow is melting, mud is abounding, and the days are waxing longer and longer.  Now we are getting about 12 hours a day of sunshine, which always amazes me once the time changes.  Winter's days are indeed numbered, and while he may put up a fight or two til the end... spring will persevere! 

I've ordered my seeds for this year's garden, and they arrived today, so I will be doing some planting in my little greenhouse tomorrow.  I'm excited about getting my hands in the dirt :) I'll be starting tomatoes and peppers for now, and in a couple of weeks I will start some flowers, and closer to planting time, I will start squash, pumpkin, beans etc.  I find that because of our very short growing climate, it helps to start most of what I plant in the garden ahead of time in my greenhouse.  It is extra work, but oh so worth it come harvest time :)

I saw four robins today on my walk, and although they wouldn't let me get close enough for a picture (I just had my phone on me), I was thrilled to see them and hear their cheerful cries as they searched for worms. 

The joyful birds prolong the strain,

Their song with every spring renewed

The air we breathe, and falling rain

Each softy whispers: God is good! 

~ John Hampden Gurney ~

And a psalm that I wanted to sing along with the birds came to mind as I walked: 

Psalms 95:1-7

O come, let us sing unto the Lord: 

let us make a joyful noise to the rock of our salvation.

 Let us come before his presence with thanksgiving, 

and make a joyful noise unto him with psalms.

For the Lord is a great God, 

and a great King above all gods.

In his hand are the deep places of the earth: 

the strength of the hills is his also.

 The sea is his, and he made it: 

and his hands formed the dry land.

 O come, let us worship and bow down: 

let us kneel before the Lord our maker.

For he is our God; 

and we are the people of his pasture, 

and the sheep of his hand.

And as the robins sang, I rejoiced in our Creator and to know that spring was coming soon. :)