I finished the last post with it snowing on Thursday evening. This is a rare event in this part of Texas and the fact that the snow stuck around through the next day was even more rare. It made for an all new landscape to photograph.
The view from the back walkway.
There is the decorated tree just inside the gate on the right.
Everyone else was still in bed but I went for a walk up the road as the sun was coming over the hills.
I got back to the house and checked inside the truck. Dan had chosen to drive to Texas instead of flying. He says, now that he has retired, “everyday is Saturday” and he preferred to throw a road trip into the plans. He had left five days before I did and spent time hiking and camping along the way. He met me at the airport in Austin on Tuesday. Now that all the kids were at the house we had to spread out with sleeping arrangements and he decided to continue with the camping mode and sleep in the truck.
Eventually everyone else came out into the snow.
Kirby started a snowman with the help of…
…Uncle Matt…
…and Aunt Meryl.
I love these kids.
And these kids too.
We changed planes in L.A. Wildfires had started burning a few days before this trip and this is a view of the smoke from two fires blowing out over the ocean. We soon left that behind but even now there are fires raging in S. California. December! Here in N. CA we’ve had one good rain in November and nothing since. But that’s a topic for another post.
I got there Tuesday night. Kirby and I went out the next morning. She showed me her chickens and we collected eggs.
She showed me the tree near the front gate that she and her mom had decorated.
We walked down the road…
…and I didn’t know until this point that her ladybug boots have holes in them.
I have been told that Santa is taking care of that.
We looked at decorations on other properties.
Eventually Kirby got tired of being the subject of photos.
A picnic lunch after the walk.
We have another cutie in Texas as well.
I spent last Christmas there when he was only a few days old.
Brother and sister get along well.
Thursday afternoon it began to snow.
Kirby spent some time outside before it got dark.
Chris built one 8-foot and two 10-foot tables for the use of the wedding party. He also made assorted game pieces and a very cool guest sign-in board.
Chris getting advice from his sister.
More advice. Stout tables.
Some of the bridal party who helped the day before. They were all there–what a great group of friends Chris and Meryl share.
Table inspection by the resident cat…
…who, having done his (her?) job, needed a nap.
Wedding rehearsal. I didn’t get all the guys in the photo because I was seated in my mother-of-the-groom chair.
The girls minus the bride.
Meryl’s parents hosted a dinner the night before the wedding and here are my three beautiful daughters!
What time I have spent in the snow has been well after the storms have come through. There is something very different and beautiful about being there immediately after the snowfall…
…while the branches are still heavy with snow.
I loved seeing the snow clear to the tops of the trees. As the sun started warming the trees, snow cascaded from the highest branches.
I spent the night at M & K’s (Dan came home for chores and dog duty) and the next day Dan came back and brought Chris and Meryl with him. Then we celebrated our private family Christmas.
The younger generation helping the older one with digital issues.
Chris plays a mini-flute sporting his new Storm Trooper oven mitt.
Here are my sheep/barn related Christmas gifts. My wheelbarrows constantly need their tires pumped up so Dan got the fittings to go on an extra air compressor in the barn. There are tubes and tires for my handtruck. Dog treats from Hawaii. Sheep and dog magnets. All the attachments for my new GoPro (birthday present). Footrot Flats is a comic strip series that I think only a sheep farmer would enjoy. Hand and foot warmers packets that I’ll share with Farm Club in the barn. 
We took another hike that afternoon. This was a great two-day Christmas celebration with family. And it’s not quite over. The kids are taking us to see StarWars in a couple of days. The only thing missing was my granddaughter and her family but at least we spent a week with them not long ago.
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