Thursday, February 9, 2012

Rural Thursday - Life on the Homestead

"Getting an inch of snow is like winning 10 cents in the lottery." --  Bill Watterson

I wouldn't say we won the lottery this week on the homestead, but we pocketed more than ten cents. It started to snow Thursday night and continued through Friday. We ended up with around 10" of accumulation.  


Friday morning I saw a coyote walking up the hill away from our cabin. The first one I've seen near our property. I managed to get one fair photograph of him. (He's in front of the fence, to the right of the tree.)
"Shoot! There goes breakfast."



I'd love to show you what he was watching, but the doe he had his eyes on had the good sense to run back up the mountain before I could photograph her. Much later - after Mr. Coyote left the premises -- she came back down and plopped herself under my neighbor's tree. (At least I think it was the same deer. She wasn't wearing a name tag, so I can't be sure.)
"If I even get so much as a glimpse of that Wiley Coyote I'm outta here faster than you can say 'Canis latrans'."

At one time our homestead was part of a large dairy. The old superintendent's cabin, partially hidden by snow-covered boulders, is now part of our neighbor's property. It butts up to our backyard.  I love to photograph it in the morning, as I did on Saturday.
Morning after the snow.

Then again, photographing the old cabin in early evening is fun too. Especially with deer grazing around it.
Feeding Frenzy

Sunday morning this buck posed for me.
"My left side is my best."
Monday morning I was trying to get a descent shot of a pretty pink sunrise from my front porch. . .
You call this a sunrise? Pish-posh.

when I saw something move to my left. I had totally missed the opportunity to photograph a bobcat. In our front yard! Before I could focus my camera and get it ready to shoot again (I need a new camera sooooo badly -- this one is sooooo slow) the bobcat was way down the road, meeting up with a second bobcat. They were too far away to get a photo. Drat! Bummer! However, an hour later there was some redemption in the form of this young bull elk on the hill (in the same area where the coyote stood).
"Ok, so I'm not a bobcat. Get over it Lady."
I watched the elk for quite awhile. The poor guy had a limp; injured in some way. He disappeared for awhile. Late in the day he showed up by the corral. The horses were very curious. They lined up in a perfect row and stared at him as he raised his head to nibble on the ponderosa branch. 
"What is he doing to our tree?" "I'm tellin' mom." "He'd better skidaddle before I show him who's hoss."


Tuesday morning showed off some beautiful light.


In the afternoon several deer visited the homestead. I snapped this sweet scene from the dining room window.






I stepped outside onto my porch and took a photo of this adorable yearling. He just stood there gazing at me, no more than 6 feet away. The deer are very brave around humans here. Probably because we pose no threat to them.  

Dennis finished another watercolor.

Wednesday Alltrips.com notified me that the travel blog and photographs I submitted to them -- Reflections on Sprague Lake -- have been posted on their website. 

Today I've been working on a new blog that I hope to have up and running next week. The blog A Joyful Cottage will focus on cottage and vintage style decor and will tie in to an Etsy shop we'll be opening. I'll still maintain my Joyful Altitude and Mountain Manna Devotional blogs. Hey, I'm a writer and. . .well, writers. . .write. Oh yeah, and there's that photography bug I have, too.

That's a look at our homestead this week. What's going on in your rural world?

Nancy

Today I'm hopping over to Nancy @ A Rural Journal and Lisa @ Two Bears Farm for their Rural Thursday Blog Hop. Check out the wonderful bloggers there. 






15 comments:

  1. Oh my goodness. I'm in love with these photos - getting my Rocky Mountain fix through them. I'm charmed by the commentary, too!

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    1. Thank you very much! I enjoyed your barn scrapping post.

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  2. What an absolute delight to visit your blog! (I have so many blogs I want to follow that I'm going to be buried!) Beautiful scenery...great animal images (I live in town and have taken photos of deer through my window, too. No bobcats or coyotes, though. They are a little farther out.) I also visited your husband's watercolor portfolio and saw one "Springtime in the Wallowa Mountains." I grew up in the Wallowa Lower Valley and I live just 25 miles from it right now.

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    1. Evelyn, thank you for your kind words. They are very much appreciated. My husband will be so pleased that you took the time to visit his art website. He lived in Joseph, Oregon before I met him and speaks often of his life there. He loved it. His oldest daughter lives in Portland; we were there for Thanksgiving. That was my first look at Oregon, a beautiful state. I did a blog post after we got back with photos of Hood and Willamette Valleys. Gorgeous country. I want to go back and explore more.

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  3. Gorgeous photos, Nancy. I told you, I want to live where you are!

    And congrats on the new etsy shop and venture. I'm sure it will be a success.

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    1. I appreciate your encouraging words, Nancy. Thanks so much.

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  4. Wonderful captures! Love the gentle deer and While E Coyote.

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    1. Thank you. I visited your site and was very impressed with your beautiful photos. I appreciate you taking the time to visit and comment.

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  5. i love deer! so glad to see those photos!
    thanks so much for sharing your lovely snowy shots!

    happy weekend!

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    1. Thanks, Betty. I enjoy your photos, as well. Very nice.

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  6. Your pictures are amazing! Thanks for bringing me into your tranquil world. We haven't had any snow stick this year, so I have to live vicariously. Thanks for linking up with Rural Thursday!

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    1. Thank you, Lisa, for providing an opportunity for all of us to link up for Rural Thursday. God bless.

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  7. Beautiful scenes in your photos.

    Regards and best wishes

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  8. Oh my! what absolutely gorgeous captures Nancy. Can I join the queue of people who want to live where you do??!! Such a blessing to have those wonderful creatures pay you a visit. Your husband is clearly a gifted artist too!

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Thanks for taking the time to comment.