Frosty Valley

Subfreezing weather for the past week plus, has brought a beauty of its own.

The valley floor, as seen from our lower road, is a frozen wasteland, though the river still flows.

The boggy fields are iced over, and everything else is clothed in shimmery white. The clear skies during the day make everything very crisp and pretty.

Home for the Holidays!

Our daughter arrived from Guatemala Tuesday evening, where upon we drove directly from the airport to The Outback Restaurant where she could partake of beef. Steak, to be exact. She doesn't eat beef in Guatemala...... just chicken. Ryan, Scott and Bethany Lynn met us there, and we all enjoyed a robust dinner: steak, lobster, tenderloin, chicken..... some of everything represented at our table :-) Bethany had come from 60 degree weather, to a butt freezing 16 degrees here. Quite a shock to her system. She is home for 3 weeks, as she is maid of honor in a friend's wedding, so she has much activity during the next week and a half revolving around wedding 'things'. And many friends to visit and catch up with, having been gone a year so far. Peace Corps. Anywho, it is wonderful to see her smiling face again! I know the time will fly by way too quickly..........

Ice Skating

The pond is starting to freeze over at nights now, with temps in the upper teens and 20's. Today it was thick enough that the ducks were not able to break through it simply by means of their weight walking across it. They didn't quite know what to make of that! They were slipping and sliding along, shouting noisily.

I finally broke through the ice at one end for them, creating a small opening. They quickly slurped up the freezing water and took turns dunking their entire bodies. Brrrrr!

Preparation for the Winter

A couple of weeks ago while making my way to the chicken coop to collect eggs, I passed this stump on the pathway. Obviously the chipmunks had been through a last minute frenzy to gather and stash food before the cold winter months set in for the long haul! The ground below the stump is littered with pine cone debris, too! What a party they must have had!

Christmas Snapshot of Long Ago

Christmas 1962 was a special one. It would be the last time the entire Arthur Vaughan Clan, minus Grandpa Arthur himself, would be together. Here are the four living sons of Arthur, and their families. One son, Charles, had been killed at age 15 after being hit on his bike. Grandpa Arthur had passed in 1961. Leukemia would claim the life of Robert Vaughan, son of Herb Vaughan, in December of 1963. Robert stands in the back row, 5th from the left. From my understanding, the grief of his passing stole the joy and breath out of the Christmas season for Herb, his wife Inez and sister, Jan, so that the entire family decided to no longer celebrate Christmas day together anymore. Little did we understand at the time this photo was snapped,

the significance of this Christmas time gathered together as a family.

In this photo you see Grandma Cora Vaughan, her 4 sons Earl, Herbert, Leland and my father Lloyd and their wives and children. There are 4 cousins in the young adult age range and 8 of us cousins in the younger age category. In addition there are 2 spouses belonging to cousins, as well as the live-in companion/friend that came to live with my grandma after Grandpa died the previous year. I am smack in the middle in the rear of those sitting down.

“Memory is a way of holding on to the things you love, the things you are, the things you never want to lose.”~ Kenin Arnold

Cold December Afternoons

The sun goes down early these brisk days. Actually, it never really gets up very high in the skies all day long. Not high enough to peek over the tall trees on our property anyway. I corral the ducks back to their pen at 4:00 so I can best the raccoons out of a dinner of duck. On the rare day like yesterday that the skies are clear, the sun shines orange through the trees and coldness. It is very pretty. Way more than this photo lets on.

A New Pumpkin Pie Variation

It appears my DIL, Bethany, is not going to blog the fantastic pie she made and brought for Thanksgiving dessert, so I will! It was my favorite of the 3 pies present: apple, pumpkin and this cheese cake/pumpkin pie one.

She used Bakerella's recipe at http://www.bakerella.com/time-for-pie/, and if you know what is good for your taste buds, you will click on that link for the recipe and directions! It will now become a new traditional "must have" at my Thanksgiving table!