Look what we got!

SNOW!!!!

On Thanksgiving, no less! Woot, Woot!I'm not a huge fan of snow, except when my family can be home together and especially for Thanksgiving and Christmas. Last year we had snow for Christmas and Thanksgiving, and we were thrilled! So far, this year seems to be a repeat, which is great, because the house is cozy and warm and filled with the comforting aromas of food roasting and baking.
The horse, llamas, goats and sheep are all tucked into the barn nice and dry, and except for a few bedraggled stubborn chickens, the chickens are cuddled up inside their house, too. Mrs. Cotton, our Japanese Silky hen, looks a little worse for wear, doesn't she? These are the smart ones.
So, what's the weather like in your neck of the woods?

Happy Thanksgiving Everyone!

The White Stuff

This is what we woke up to this morning. We're expecting snow flurries all day.
Our pumpkins are wrapped in cloaks of white. We like to leave them out for a few weeks and watch to see how their faces change as they decompose. We're weird like that.
The peach tree has finally lost all it's clothes, as my daughter says.
Zuni lives for snowy days. It's fun to watch her joyful romps as she cavorts in the white fluff on the ground. The chickens weren't so sure it was safe to come outside.
The Japanese Silkies, Mr. and Mrs Cotton, seemed the most at home in the snow with their fluffy feathered feet. Sid Vicious and Phyllis Diller, the two Polish chickens were less enthusiastic and crouched down pathetically underneath the chicken house.


We're expecting snow flurries for the next 2 days, followed by sunny days and temps in the 60's. This is typical Autumn in the mountains of New Mexico.

How's the weather in your corner of the world?

A Lovely Spring Day

Want to read more about our Spring Day? Click our Laughing Orca Ranch Blog

Winter's Last Hurrah???

Gosh, darn it! It's snowing outside like a down pillow exploded!

Earlier today it was sunny and beautiful. Feeling like it was not yet Spring, but far from being winter.

And now this:

"Winter Storm Warning in effect through Thursday along the Central Mountain chain and over the northeast and east Central Plains of New Mexico... Snow...heavy at times...will continue overnight across the Sangre de Cristo...Sandia and Manzano Mountains...and over much of eastern New Mexico north and west of a line from Corona to Fort Sumner to Tucumcari. Snowfall rates of 1 or 2 inches per hour will be common creating low visibilities and difficult driving conditions. Up to a foot of snow may fall by morning in some areas...mainly along the east slopes of the mountains and along I 40 in east central New Mexico. Snow will develop southward across Lincoln County into the south central mountains overnight with several inches likely there through Thursday morning."

Yep, we are located along the central mountain chain. And more specifically we call home the Sandia and Manzano mountains. And we are also on the eastern edge of those mountains.

It started snowing about 8:30pm last night, and by 12am, we already had 9" of snowfall. And ya know what? It's STILL falling hard!

Gosh I hope this blizzardy snow storm is winter's last hurrah! It's as if Old Man Winter is being stingy and selfish and won't allow the beautiful Spring Fairies to take over yet.

Looking out onto one of our upstairs balconies.
9" and still the snow is still falling

A Frosting for the Cake

This is our chicken coop! For more pictures, click here: Laughing Orca Ranch

Snow Delays and Imagination

The Barn Addition Project is slowly moving forward on our ranch. Due to the fierce, bone-chilling wind, blowing snow flurries, and boot-sucking mud, the construction guys have to squeeze their work into brief pockets of 'clearer' weather. But it really is getting done. You can read and see more by clicking the ranch link here:
Laughing Orca Ranch Blog

Jackson and I took a walk in the pasture while it snowed. We shared some special moments filled with imagination and mystery.

The day after...

.....the maelstrom. The wind was really brutal last night and its still blowing hard today with gusts of up to 50mph. On the way to Jeremiah's guitar lesson we saw a few fences blown down, some trees uprooted and blown into the wind, and I tried to stay steady on the road as the wind buffeted me towards the road berms.
I took a few pics of the snow on our property, along with some wind damage.
For more pics, click here:
~Snow llamas~


The huge branch that was trimmed off of one of our trees for the barn addition, blew halfway down our pasture hill.(Click pics for larger views) (Notice the llama sleeping in the barn)
Jenna's basketball hoop, which is terribly heavy and filled with wet sand, finally met it's match and tumbled onto the trampoline.

Maelstrom!!

Over the past 3 days we've enjoyed a nice warm front, albeit brief. But it was quickly followed by wintry blasts of wind gusting up to 60mph! And that was followed by a snow storm that also included the same blasting wind.

For more pictures of this snowstorm on the ranch, click here: *Laughing Orca Ranch*

Blowing snow at the barn.
The rock wall at the back of our house. The snow was blown in so tight it resembles chinking in a log house or grout in a tile floor.

Will I ever feel warm again?

I don't think I have ever lived anywhere where the temps dropped below zero, ever! I can handle, 30 degrees, even 20 degrees, and even sometimes single digit temps., if they don't last very long (say, maybe one night?). But the temps are so cold here now that as soon as I walk out the door, my fingers feel numb!

Because of the below zero temps and the strong freezing winds, the snow that we had about 2 weeks ago, still has not melted, and is more like a frozen, icey concrete, than a pretty fluffy snow. It makes it kind of difficult to hike up to the barn so we can feed the llamas and then smash the ice in water buckets. But when you have livestock, you can't stay all cozy inside a warm house. They need you to join them in the frozen tundra to care for them.
I think I'd be warmer if I could borrow their thick wooly llama fleece.

BRRRR!!

Llamas and Dog Walking

John enjoys taking our German Shepherd Puppy for walks up in the pasture when he lets the llamas out in the morning. Zuni seems to enjoy the walks, too. And the llamas are very curious and like to follow them both around.

To see more llama stories and photos, click here:
More Llama Land

A Dry Winter, eh?

I really do not know where all those crazy people got the idea that it was going to be a dry winter this year.
And how about that silly man from California, in the Albuquerque Home Depot who laughed at John and Jeremiah for buying snow shovels?

It started snowing and blowing last night. I think this is probably the 5th or 6th snowfall we've had so far this season.
Last night it started with rain followed by frozen rain and then the snow came down.
It was nasty stuff and plastered everything that the wind blew it into. At least all the white stuff was beautiful to wake up to in the morning.

Here are some photos I took from upstairs right after I woke up.
Views North of our house.
Views North East of our house.
Views South West of our house and of our neighbor's barn and our fenced pasture.
A peek into the barn, using the zoom feature on my camera. Llamas hidden behind the hay bins.
View looking down at our snowy chicken house.

More Photos, Click Here

It snowed off and on all day long. The wet blowing snow kept plastering our sattelite dish on the roof and Jackson volunteered to keep it clear of snow and ice, so we could watch TV in front of the cozy fireplace.
The wind was blowing with gusts of 45 mph. It made the snow and ice particles into weapons when hitting our faces.

A Snowy Bust

Well, we didn't get close to the amount of snow that was in the weather report last night. But we did get a healthy 5" or so. My kids were thrilled to ride their snow sleds this morning.

But last night, just as I started to relax in the warmth of the fireplace and cup of hot cocoa, I realized that the snow was blowing in all directions fast. And then I got bundled up to head up to the barn to check on the llamas, who had been brought into their pens earlier. Unfortunately, the design of the current barn that came with the house is very poor and doesn't permit a protected, dry space for animals to get out of the the worst weather. The roofline is too high and short. So, I planned to walk up there in the blowing snow to move the llamas deeper into the barn where they could stay dry.

Before I left, the boys encouraged me to bundle up my head in their Darth Vader Mask to keep the snow out of my eyes and off my face. I happily obliged and allowed a few pictures, too.
What I would love to know, though, is what my neighbors must have thought, had they been looking out their window, as Darth Vader tromped through our pasture through the falling snow!

Who ever knew that Darth Vader could look so HOT! Strike the pose, Vader!

Our horse trailer was covered in snow.

For more photos/updates on how the llamas fared in the snow,
click: Laughing Orca Ranch

By 5pm the snow was about 5" deep and covered my boots.

The birds were so busy gorging on bird seed as the snow fell, that they didn't care how close we got to them. I took this photo from our balcony, but we also walked within 5' of them on the ground and only a few flew away.
First photo of the morning. Bird are happily eating from our bird feeders.

Snowing AND Blowing~Possible 12"!!!

Well I got started early doing some detail work on the chicken coop.....or rather, the ranch project that never ends(insert rolling eyes here).
And I'm very glad I did because just as I was finishing up, the first snowflakes drifted down on me.

(For more Chicken Coop updates, click: Laughing Orca Ranch

And check out our local weather report. And by the way, our house is just a bit higher than 7,000 ft. I expect that we'll probably get between 7-10" by tomorrow evening.

Today
Partly cloudy. Scattered rain and snow showers in the morning...then numerous snow showers in the afternoon. Snow accumulation 1 or 2 inches. Highs in the 30s to upper 40s. Southwest winds 10 to 15 mph shifting to the west 10 to 20 mph in the afternoon.

Tonight
Snow showers. Areas of blowing snow after midnight. Snow accumulation 5 to 7 inches...except 7 to 11 inches above 7500 feet. Colder. Lows 10 to 25. Northwest winds 10 to 20 mph.

Saturday
Partly cloudy with isolated snow showers. Total snow accumulation 5 to 8 inches...except as much as 8 to 12 inches above 7500 feet. Highs in the 20s to upper 30s. Northwest winds 10 to 15 mph.


Some photos I took from my daughter's bedroom. It's hard to see, but I finally completed covering the entire coop with hawk/bird netting.(Click for a larger view)

A White Christmas?

Most of our snow has melted already, except for patches in the shade of trees.
I much prefer no snow at night, because when night falls and the temps drop the snow adds to the "Ice Box" effect that is quite honestly, dreadfully cold! Brrr!

But if it snows for Christmas, we will all be very happy!!! We were thrilled last year to have a white Christmas here in New Mexico, when we lived in Rio Rancho. And now the weather report is telling us to expect snow showers this weekend and a chance of snow for Christmas!

Read more below:

Wintry weather moving into New Mexico by the weekend...

A weather system over the central California coast will move rapidly to The Four Corners region by Thursday night... and will spread winter weather across northern and central New Mexico from Thursday night through Saturday afternoon.

Snow will begin Thursday night over northern and northwest New Mexico... and extend southward to the western mountains and the upper Gila region during the day on Friday... with snow beginning over the peaks of the Sandia and Manzano Mountains by Friday afternoon. As the weather system crosses the state... snow showers
will spread broadly across the Rio Grande Valley and over the eastern plains on Friday night before tapering off east of the Central Mountain chain during the day on Saturday.

Snowfall amounts will range from 2 to 4 inches in most areas with locally higher amounts over the high country... and amounts of 1 to 2 inches or less in valleys. Some of the valley snow will be mixed with rain during the daytime.

If planning Holiday travel in northern or central New Mexico... be prepared for winter driving conditions and possible delays in your trip. Driving conditions may become hazardous over the northern mountains... the Sangre de Cristo Mountains... and the northeast Highlands from Friday through Saturday. Stay close to your preferred weather information source to make sure you have the latest forecasts and statements describing this round of wintry weather.

~Daily Weather Report:
Friday
Partly cloudy. Breezy. Scattered snow showers in the morning...then scattered rain and snow showers in the afternoon. Highs in the 30s to upper 40s. West winds 15 to 25mph with gusts to around 35 mph.

Friday Night:
Partly cloudy with a chance of snow showers. Colder. Lows 15 to 25. Northwest winds 10 to 20 mph in the evening.
Saturday:
Partly cloudy with a slight chance of snow showers. Highs in the 20s to upper 30s.
Saturday Night:
Partly cloudy. Lows 10 to 20. Sunday Mostly sunny. Not as cool. Highs in the upper 30's to mid 40s.
Sunday Night:
Partly cloudy. Lows 15 to 25. Monday Partly cloudy. Highs in the 30s to upper 40s.
Monday Night:
Partly cloudy. Lows 15 to 25.

**Christmas Day**
Partly cloudy with a slight chance of rain and snow showers. Highs in the 30s to upper 40s.
Tuesday Night:
Partly cloudy with a slight chance of snow showers. Lows 15 to 25.
Wednesday:
Mostly sunny. Highs in the 30s to upper 40s.

Our Snow Ball Battle!

Don't ya just love Jib Jab! You can play in the snow and get pummeled by snowballs.....without even going outside! hehe

Non-Crappy Starring You! eCards on JibJab

Sunny Snow

Upon waking up today and seeing the sun rise over the mountains and shed bright rays into our little valley, I also noticed that it was snowing!

It seemed so unreal to see the snow falling while the sun shined so brightly, so I just had to take a few photos.

Looking NorthEast from our bedroom balcony.Looking SouthEast from our balcony.

Looking East, into the sun, from our balcony.
Looking down onto our chicken house and chicken coop (which we will hopefully complete this weekend! We are praying for two warm days with some sun!)
Looking West towards our barn and pasture.

Sledding Siblings!

The kids had a total blast sledding down a small hill in front of our house. Over and over they went, walking up and then sledding down...laughing all the way!

Jackson taking a dive with Jeremiah and Jenna remaining on the sleds for the ride.Jackson and Jenna sliding down together...wheeee!!The Sledding Trio!Jenna cracking up laughing while Jackson rolls off and down the hill.Happy kids in the snow!

Snow Flurries, eh?

Well, the snow has decided to linger. All day we 'oohed' and 'aahed' over the beautiful snow flurries dusting everything with a layer of sparkling white frosting.

At times the 'snow flurries' were more blizzard-like with the snow coming down so fast and thick that visibility was quite limited.

Our neighbor's old dog has been coming to our house way before we even bought it. And we are suckers for a furry critter, so we hand out bisquits upon every visit. Jenna gets her doggy fix. Jenna didn't like the snow blowing into her eyes.Do you see the llama?
Catlinite waiting for his nightly treat of grain. For more photos of the llamas and a snowy Laughing Orca Ranch, click HEREThe view from the barn towards the back of our house.My Little Pony
Jenna walking back from feeding our neighbor's horses some hay.Jenna thought our little grove of snowy juniper trees was quite magical.