#22 ~ A Cow Critter and a Snow Genie

"In seed-time learn, in harvest teach, in winter enjoy.”

~William Blake

The Start of the Snow 1-21-16. The sky is still blue.

The blue sky is still showing.

Sorry about the fence post. I cropped it so you could see the cow better

The Skies are clouding up...big snow on its way.

The snow is coming down. This is the creek in front of the house.  1-22-16
A few hoodoos are left from the summer and fall.

Another shot of the creek. 1-22-16

Now, here is how an old lady makes a Snow Genie ::-)

These were taken this morning by Buddy. It snowed all day yesterday, all last night, 

and all morning today. Now it seems to have moved on...thank goodness.

I will post photos of the barn tomorrow for Tom’s Barn Collective.

These were taken today - 1-23-1

“Some day you will be old enough to start reading fairy tales again.”

~C.S.Lewis

(I am already there, and I am 76.)

                 OK...Do I really want to go through with this. When Eloise and I did it when she was 5,
                                          that was five years ago. I am now five years older.

I DID IT!  WOO HOO! 

With multiple  ayers of SmartWool long john bottoms, 3 tops plus the parka,2 hats

and heavy duty boots with two pair of wool socks...

I was warm.

How do I get out of this cold stuff?

OK, Stupid....CRAWL to the walkway Buddy shoveled.

I finally made it! Thanks for all the help Jack.

The broom handle saved my life. I was able to pull up. 

Bud was long gone shoveling The Bridge to Somewhere
so was nowhere around to bail me out of a rock and a snowy place.

“Deep meaning lies often in childish play.”

~Johann Friedrich von Schiller

This post is linked with:
The Weekend in Black and White

Saturday’s Critters
Camera-Critters

#8 ~ Cow Alert!

"The difference between a jogger and a runner is an entry blank.”
~George Sheehan

As usual, Buddy was out running this morning. After a while he came in laughing showing me this picture and commenting...”I can’t even run fast enough to pass a cow on the road.” It was so funny I just had to use his picture for my daily post. We have lots of cows getting out on the road. When we see one, that means stopping and calling the owners if we know them. If not we just have to pray it/they do not hit a car. We have a friend who hit one, and it was not a pretty sight...the car or the cow. This little house and the grazing field along side of it are just down the road from us a wee bit, so luckily this time we knew the owner of the naughty cow.

Tomorrow he has his first off road race near Roanoke, VA. It is called the "Frozen Toe" race. If it is nice weather and my back is OK, I am going to go with him. A lot of my school teacher friends run in this race, and it is always fun to get to chat with them for a bit. After that, I want him to take me to the House and Garden Show at the Salem Civic Center and out to lunch at the Chinese restaurant.

Picture taken by Buddy January 8, 2016, with his iPhone 6.

Alexander Dairy Farm ~ Fairfield, VA

Local Dairy Farms Are Fading Away

“Growing up on a dairy farm, 

you certainly learn discipline and

a commitment to purpose."

~Mike Johanns

On my way to Fairfield Elementary School and the quilting shop, I pass this big dairy farm. I have been meaning to take some photos of it, but only this day all the planets were in line. There was no proper place to park and I was across the 4-lane highway from the farm, so I pulled off onto the shoulder and walked first to the median and then across to the farm to get these shots. It was a state road so the cars were going relatively slowly. I was very, very careful. I promise. BUT, I was scared to death the cops were gonna ticket me because I was just about 5 lengths back from a red hydrant and barely off the road.

This post is linked with:
 Tom’s Barn Collective
Saturday's Critters
Camera Critters
Our World Tuesday
Outdoor Wednesdays
Skywatch Friday

Snow Leaving for Now

 The snow has almost melted, but frigid temperatures are returning tonight.

 Goodbar Farm
Wire Fencing

 Rexrode Farm

Wire Fencing

 Rexrode Cattle Guard

 MOO! The snow is totally gone in more and more areas.
These guys prefer the road to being fenced in. They are always breaking out.

Now, this is a BIG puddle!
Metal Fencing

 Sunrise ~ January 27, 2014

  Sunrise over Route 60 in Front of the House ~ January 27, 2014

 Big House and Little House Mountains at Sunrise
More Wire Fencing

Lots of School Buses in People’s Yards
Finally, Wood Fencing

 People just leave vintage tools in the fields to rust away.

 Maury River 
The red sign in the distance is a warning sign. A high school student went over the dam there and was killed a number of years ago. The currents are pretty severe at times at this location. The old railroad bridge was turned into a footbridge, but it was washed away two times and never rebuilt. I have taken pictures of this area in the sumer but never in the winter.

Virginia Military Institute in the Distance

A Rather Nice Appalachian Trail Sign

I wish Springtime was under this sign instead of spring water.

The Skyline Drive Closed Due to Crummy Weather

This post is linked with:

Our World Tuesday

Rurality Blog Hop

Water World Wednesday

Signs2

Friday Fences

Skywatch Friday

Weekend Refections

Shadow Shot Sunday 2

The Beauty of the Kerrs Creek Countryside

While driving a nearby road back in April, I spotted this old farmhouse and its barns.  It's a working farm with many acres and has spectacular views of the mountains. All of the pictures were taken about 8:30 in the morning with my iPhone 4. Being that I was without a laptop for almost 4 months, I am now posting some of the pictures I had taken just before it died. 

Homeplace 

Barn 1

Barns 1 and 2

Barn 3...or maybe it is a shed...

This post is linked with 
 Rurality Blog Hop