Officially Cold!

Now - we're talking Cold!  Daytime highs only 11 degrees.  Wind gusts yesterday up to 40 mph.  I went out to sweep the snow off the sidewalk, making little headway.  The wind blew it back as fast as I was taking it off! 

Napping in the sun~

I took the photo above, out the west bedroom window.  The snow from the last storm was almost gone, except for in our backyard. With the new 2" of light snow, Nika loves it!   I've given her every opportunity to be in the house, but usually it's mid-afternoon before she comes in for a warmer spot to nap. Outside, she also has her favorite places. The one above is where she watches for the mailman, Fed-x truck, etc.

I've been spotted :-)

It just amazes me how well she handles the cold!  Of course her nice, thick fur coat sure helps!  The emerald green trees we planted last summer are hanging on...

With the wind chill, the feel's like temperature has been -11 or today, -15.  School has been in session all week.  Butch said the kids were still running around with their coats unzipped!

Windswept~

When I first got up this morning, the sun was just coming up over the ridge. The surface of the snow was covered with ice crystals that sparkled like tiny diamonds.

Moon-rise~

Last evening it was SO cold that my hands were freezing in seconds! Of course the wind is what makes it hard to be out for very long.  You can just see the last of daylight reflecting off the hard surface of the snow.

Let there be light~

 I tried about everything to keep ahead of snow building up on the decks.  The blower seems to work best.  The Christmas lights add some cheer to the bitter cold evenings.  I love seeing them from the house.

My flight tomorrow to WA was cancelled & delayed to Sunday, due to a big storm they're expecting.  Hopefully I'll be flying out on Sunday, when we have more snow due here.  Winter has finally arrived about everywhere!