Playing with a new toy

We had foggy skies mixed with sun, creating some special effects today.

I used Christmas money to buy myself a Canon Powershot A3100 and was out experimenting.  These are basically "blind" shots taken with automatic focus.  My glasses darken with polaroid in sunshine and I could not see the LCD screen at all.

Not a bad little camera!  What I like about it is that I can take it with me because it's little and light.  It's time to have fun and experiment this year.

See spectacular sky shots from around the world at Skywatch Friday.

Sunrise Skywatch

It's still winter.

Maybe somewhere else it's not so check out Skywatch Friday.

Then the sun came out, at last

 The snow crystals are glittering.

I had the pleasure of digging the wood out of the pile to haul in for heat.  It's COLD out there!

Snow piles have very interesting shapes and shadows when the SUN comes OUT!

 

I didn't see the jack rabbits, just their tracks.

Oh wait, here's one!  Nope, it's Brogan enjoying the snow.

That was part of my New Year's Eve walk.  Wishing everyone the best for 2011.

Blowing snow

Looking out the window,

 

the wind is blowing snow.

Cat tracks on the mountain

We had a safe trip to Wyoming and back in between storms, thank goodness.  Apparently we are going to have a real winter this season.  Blowing snow and cold is actually better than snow with rain on top.  

Dreaming of Hawaii.......

Update

6 a.m. and then 11 a.m.........

Same view from previous post with another foot or two more snow. The pile is a result of raking the snow off the porch roof so it doesn't collapse under the weight of heavy, wet snow.

  I'm looking for warm sunny places around My World.

It's a Charlie Brown Christmas

Somewhat surprisingly we didn't put up a tree this year, other than a literal, out-of-a-box Charlie Brown tree with one ornament.  We are headed north to visit family for Christmas and it seemed pointless to haul out all the decorations.

We are having a major winter storm with rain on top of snow last night and now more snow.  This means a layer of ice under snow and treacherous driving conditions.  Hopefully we'll be able to get out of town when it's time to go.

I do wish my blogging friends a very Merry Christmas.  I'm sorry I haven't been able to stop and visit all of you as much as I used to but you are in my heart all the same.

Best wishes for a most excellent and Happy New Year!

Fog

92% humidity in the alpine desert during winter is pretty unusual.  We had a week of weather that was damp and cold.  It reminded me of living in Virginia.  When I was a child I stood at the bus stop in ankle socks and flimsy shoes.  I was really happy when we were allowed to wear pants to school!

Small blessings are what it's all about.