![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiH9E2Q0W8tyw9QHqpi1-iZQCP6-i3Kgta6MciIqxTl7pTxwLI40lJcPrQynBakoeSENcv7g9TUKJzYpZ1mXLrRoWhttR3P0nPr3xtsHfHcUeJ1yvS7Ldlevh9QzAURGBMXsR7wDDpAhJk/s400/IMG_4460.JPG)
Just in case anyone was unclear about it, winter has not officially started yet. The first day of winter begins this Sunday, December 21, 2008 at about 7 am EST.
Around here, though, winter decided to arrive a bit early. Our high temperatures all this week have been below freezing. That's very cold for the Pacific Northwest at any time, let alone in the fall. We got a bit of snow on Sunday and almost 6" today. Fortunately, Oregonians tend to be resilient folk and everyone seems to be adapting just fine.
Everything is so beautiful with a clean, fresh snow. I have been wanting to take pictures all day. In fact, I may even go so far as to say that almost all things are more photogenic in the snow.
Here, see for yourself.
Yesterday, when I opened the chicken run door, Coral and Spongebob were still nervous about coming out into the snow:
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzlTKiUmzNsWmv-5VGCJ6hRMClk1h5hKVNy_-wfwqPZwB0JDCWFbAFq-ODpx18yDo7Tbbppcw7eRG8VJsdicuGny09Bc0MrPvlUWW9PwmBEkO5Wv9qkAs95-kHeWVVW8LXj_S1MzqtytA/s400/CIMG4391.JPG)
It was very sunny and incredibly cold:
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqY20ikwPZhze7FIYX2cufFpbxQwesyzVRFRGOb1KnlWdaJZcv64lPWiYpov_xOk7cp8hcEyPOAFb0nBJGhNM_af0PDn-BCr-v0gvdSDpSRF2KaobvWnc1Gh8PVIjU-ssRmYNyZzlE4zA/s400/CIMG4392.JPG)
The size of the Douglas Fir trees dwarfs my little chicken coop:
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9UUOzsCagYe5xX5upot8rMvNSjDC76yLnOSlVkJaBPmWlLzcmsvfX73n6Dhve94qrRgcqexn0TWIAcntQHjc0LzBF17DxaIqZvMvH4xwfAX8bWXSUw14SsWJPdJ3uZn23xIlfHD4LsfY/s400/CIMG4444.JPG)
Walking up to the barn, things I would have normally overlooked started to catch my eye. The snow is sparkling at me:
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7PKzztIgjyp8NvczfZlnq0RqVqhHpgxWKXB8CV8U5JM_IHC0K_6tgXYsKhlyT093ab7UaGnHy9RNttcQIxN0d_Z_KvNKcOz-Okf1eElNa0CRL_cA8f2frj8IJjG0wevwqpYmVcKVFbiQ/s400/CIMG4405.JPG)
Here's Aidan, my son, walking to the barn:
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmjjrv2s-1SZZUXiUeMs8WDU9nc0BkXfv-RlbTsIJiTvfPMRvR14adj2OqieGH6xugfh7NgGS084VoIaPm6BPuYYRuLZTuiEn__dWlmShie_1GqGfjx4_Tm88NjQqGZjsjZwRRULL0BTU/s400/CIMG4456.JPG)
I sat on these chairs a lot this last summer:
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGgLHVkyhqjBejv4Z68mG2DuX6MaaSrNxPZhF9m2GqhDztOsd5Iy_1UlCirO6RN7WSyzoAlf13rH9mFeWM1WeORwgEVxOlELMcxVeDfXXpfDmrK5TeWwBbaFYXRlqtjbU01veDjpRYuP0/s400/IMG_4434.JPG)
Can't you almost smell the crisp, fresh air?
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4tBttEbrX1j-JtmsvC5V2oVDmrcHLctng-egZYcxubGqU-Pgif4JhrV0RNnafBAbZFHGKjKNIddPz2lh-ttQGwS2kZEOXgbfcv5epWBC-p7I0JKylg66pGwlFs7ogFX5Ro6acoydkVpI/s400/IMG_4431.JPG)
Spongebob and Bippity were posing for me:
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHIvrRnRmV2avT8DT5Dg-Rvn5Wc2dbIaUIjgw2eQrgKis8peL3r-UiRRRFBTtJ9vwfzjlTApkY4FTbqiWUFYEPmeBW18Muk2LKfplsvqx15iTa7vQUZt-Zn2izZPgLSzdkBfgjNkgLeV8/s400/CIMG4411.JPG)
Sparrow had oatmeal in her beard. How embarrassing:
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQIhQwx_FlJGzyjNFqiUcc7_jb7Psww2G-Sk2I0mCLxyN_b-hXyw2a-NL9o4Ckrtm3-h1YG9K_AeZSRBQBi7uYQtumgsh5E27bfpatVjC0rhzsn11e5Z5B8ugzwhvByLs2GGdnq4WT3IY/s400/CIMG4416.JPG)
It got down to 9 degrees last night. Absolutely frigid for western Oregon. My poor rain chain and ceramic water bucket should have been taken in before the freeze:
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkp4qHIpD0W7JFdzHRRuSF1I_mZtkJ3jhu09gb4YjG9QO0DywbRJ4nCdo6VyeiCYJeNm6uIQxFySpNpDB89d0P8cmWHoRZSOh9kIoJr1uaNUO6ryw8SFAEk8L7dYfODvxaFRcDo7lgl04/s400/CIMG4440.JPG)
Too late now:
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtJ09wqpiczYnB24SPOdG3T38MaNQDHJSFSY8ZNodzLQZDXCbZzKTEqDwcVeXJNwsvGC9OoOt9mASAx9Fauhg3O964G1-am92N0C27RBdce9BjbXFS6o6uIrN8a8m1LZV_DZTmmQikeBA/s400/CIMG4441.JPG)
The moles of Critter Farm are alive and well. I can't believe they can still tunnel like this when the ground is frozen:
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDji4dBdrrfOMai5Xg2VUsPAxm-9nXoQgYqMm9C1KW2004H8If0hyphenhyphenm6mCH8GNT9OsLdqxVPROxuBzl8p9dm2wTYlE4Kw1d0pSe8GFdgE4Oq6dMtE4S0YW4qde6vTNogQOTu0o5WKqh4Nc/s400/CIMG4443.JPG)
The birds have been ravenous:
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNI266tYMIBuJ8zLNzISid6I0MEa3XxRNC0z6jLB_f32Y5NoXxettU90vaVB2N3videZ4ImQ1Wsdob59V9fVeJ0a-bDCzviwWBz16vz3XcAMRFPlOcSn3-gem4cGeZRSZRTglUA3xAX0I/s400/IMG_4426.JPG)
Roxy was dying to go for a walk:
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi15-w59Y31h7sXQ9eHjBPp93CtbMJCz0TdFmhdnXoEOeqXuNi_vlBFTGHejt-zk-IP96HtV566zWAbeE9m_PAUk6fp2qGu2kmWPwlceo87OC-Lwxi_0x-Fm37NYmCf2hdMteC_pB0Jqm4/s400/IMG_4469.JPG)
Though, with Roxy, it's always more of a run:
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsDF5viA433AybGavCdyKI2LXMfLzQN2N7oyvCVZ69hrT5M0m_Yg2hEWu1EmmEiJX6ocVyMH6C-sXxqAM255mRtzxvWK7Tl2bhFVxFPbPBsUlsS4bLIhaIhPinyERjCuXNDZdwiQT9q0E/s400/IMG_4494.JPG)
Look at that complete extension. All four paws in the air:
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeOP0lH1erAe62gpFtIrOly5g9Tt3nNxfjuqkeBK5UueTkiX8iPGowAYN_X6qtNiDGL2i5EoiVKdFy5ee0YTNbTSE9Kkl3uJpAw-AlCnSnfvn2MmJFDVDOk-pwD73ecagm_ub9kuRPtX4/s400/IMG_4499.JPG)
Run, run:
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-WMlzLvQuGx6BrFsB7ieQ6sH5VZpBfXSqdMV_tLHQ6jIVFvXseXkEiN5aBMDEnKNjqjseUgHTVlzTbDyZz9GVir7R82e2Lacp4bJtLxdRDvqw5t4LwhME4LvU4t8Ko1JY4Lvzi-GFYms/s400/IMG_4502.JPG)
Run:
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7aJCTsPyJQv3so1tkp9DpDt47WZ7ESnjFABDcclWrDl2rPtybGrjTPR3jGZo_ohQg0BH1XkO7BDdAqQlTlbaxgKE1NyFleV0iMMC3wJA6n2qHgp9vrsjdGPcrXuVXtFrvkrLaGglNSyA/s400/IMG_4504.JPG)
The downside of all that glorious running is all those ridiculous little snowballs that get caught in your fur:
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQ64kedaj1mRrNhRgrr_vPYDiu-wlknIvWskKZkRGYmvooT5OmmWB_FuU-JEkuXMwEesFrdP8bkmY8KP22a0I52Fuzb_wie_vhe3UJgQRQsS64wqgbLYXH0kT6MJkUhyphenhypheneUoO3FRviI64o/s400/IMG_4514.JPG)
Everything just seems prettier with a backdrop of fresh snow: