The other side of the river...

This afternoon, we went to visit friends who live about 25 miles outside the Laramie city limits.

What a beautiful place!

Thought I’d share some photos of what we saw on the way to and from their house and then the scenery when we got there.

A lot of these guys were hanging along side the road.



They were kind enough to poise for a photo shoot.



The beautiful vistas to and from their house.






The view from their house, looking up from the "road" they live on and what we drove down. You can't tell, but there are a few houses up the road.



A view from their deck. She hunts, but only for what they eat.



Another view from their deck. The red house is a vacation home. The Laramie River is back there, with two black bears, elk, moose and some say a mountain lion or two.




Heading back up the the road towards home.



I can certainly see why they live out there. It's gorgeous!

The Long and winding highway…

The Legal Dude flew back to DIA yesterday afternoon after his trip to White Plains, NY and the moot court competition.

This is what his car looked like when he pulled into the garage after the two hour trip home…

Those are icicles running all along the sides.

It had been precipitating on and off since Wednesday.

A few inches here and a few inches there, nothing unusual for this time of year.

The precipitation was at times, this icy and glassy looking stuff.

I’m reminded of this little snippet the teenager wrote about the wonders of reading a good book back when he was in the 3rd grade...“A good book is like a sweet mom or like sheared glass.”

I still have that little note as proof that he once thought of me as “sweet.”

I tried to take photos of the sparkly, “like sheared glass” stuff but not surprisingly, they didn't turn out.

One of these days though…

I am not alone...

I wasn’t the only one employing my camera this morning.

Laramie was blanketed in a dense fog early this morning.

TWC touted it as a “Freezing Fog,” whatever the heck that means.

When I drove the teenager to school, the sun was starting to peek through the cloud cover and visibility was about ½ a football field.

It was beautiful.

I took these at 6:30 while waiting for the teenager to roust himself.



















Snow and frost came so early (don't know if remember all the dead leaves that died, right on the branch) it made it impossible

















to pull these out. Now I have to wait for the first thaw.
















After dropping the teenager, I hurried back home to get my camera, trying to beat the full force of the sun.

These are shots I really wanted to get. By the time I got back, however, the sun was too strong to capture the full effect.

















The icicles were so very cool looking...

















that I wasn't the only one trying to capature the shot.

















The guy was worried his battery had run out so I told him I’d send him copies of mine.

He told me he took a bunch of photos during his walk to the university.

I saw a woman out with her camera, while I was trying to get this shot.

















The following are me trying to be ‘artsy fartsy,’ which I fail miserably at.

Though I hear tell, practice makes perfect.

I sure hope that’s true!









































































The huge spider I hung at Halloween, which I keep forgetting to take down.

Thanks for peeking...

Saying “Unlce”…

I gave in and hired the plowing company to come shovel our driveway.



Don’t know how often the winds will blow in from the North, but that’s the side the garage is on and the drifts just pile up against the doors.

Too much for little ‘ole me to handle while the boys are at school…and by the time they come home, well, it’s too late to tackle it all.

And this is the second time it’s happened in 2 weeks…and winter just started.

So we hired the guys who have shoveled before…nice guys.

One more bill to pay…

Word for the day…

Fu•tile
Pronunciation: \ˈfyü-təl, ˈfyü-ˌtī(-ə)l\
Function: adjective
Etymology: Middle French or Latin; Middle French, from Latin futilis brittle, pointless, probably from fu- (akin to fundere to pour)
Date: circa 1555
1 : serving no useful purpose : completely ineffective
2 : occupied with trifles
(Courtesy: Merriam-Webster on-line)

We are having some winter-weather today…weather that is heading your way, my peeps.

So sorry…

Earlier this afternoon the junior high was obscured by the falling snow.

Tiny light flakes…the kind that gives the air a grey and misty, swirly look and …if you don’t have to shovel…very Grandma Moses pretty.

But…I’ve been out twice this afternoon and this second time…futile.

Completely and totally ineffective against the blowing Wyoming Winds…

Drifts over a foot…where I had shoveled just an hour ago.

Drifts…filling in behind me, even before I can shovel away the snow in front of me.

Futile.

Wish I could capture it for you…but I think I need a better camera.

But…maybe you can get a glimpse from this site, WDOT Web cam

And you know what?

The locals say that the real snow fall doesn’t come until after February.

I think this will be a winter to remember…for a lot of us around the country.