the last hooray for the Western Larch 

 Our second snow coincided with the last golden colors of the Western larch , perhaps 4 inches that melted over this last week. The last rays of the day heightened the golds of the Larches. I will miss them until they return in the spring with their faerie green needles.

Magic sky

 The sky is ever changing. Much of winter is cloud cover in this North West corner. Unlike the startling blue skies of eastern Montana, we have the Pacific flow and moderate temperatures that comes with the clouds. The patterns and colors change by the minute and although you can count on grey skies occasionally the blue will break through.

The yard transforms into Narnia

Today's snow is piling up quickly . It started snowing mid day on Friday and has been steady. Tempertures in the mid 30s kept the snow from sticking until 2 AM this morning . Since then we have about 12 inches. Decks shoveled , paths cleared, young trees cleaned of their snowy burdens.  The bird feeder is tentatively filled. I say tentative as the bears are not hibernating just yet. But I feel badly for the  birds looking for a meal .  Everything is hidden under at least 12 inches of snow now.

Time to shovel the deck and clear off the wood pile 

 The smaller wood pile has been cleared off . The wood stove is working well  heating the house. I took off a few years from burning when I moved . It is nice to get back to the rhythm of the cozy wood stove . It isn't necessarily cheaper to heat with wood but certainly it is warmer as you can cozy up to the stove and read.

Steps leading from the deck , a good 8 inches of new snow

 A chore to be dealt with . Snow is easier to remove before it freezes over night and is more stubborn to shovel.

Doggy break in the Doggy Corral , Marley and Gus are considering the snow

The dogs are watching my activities in the yard from the Doggy Corral. A place not so much to keep them in but to keep the cats and bears out. Yes the Mountain lion can easily leap the 5 foot fence but at least he would have to make an effort to get the dogs.

Time to shovel a path to the garage. 

Snow is pouring and I have finished the path to the "Man shop". Very important as it really is not much fun to slog to the garage in the dark before work . And yes it is now dark morning and night. This is the time for the stout of heart . The Dark Season. I spend a lot of time with my lantern to and from the house after work . I keep in mind that about mid January the sun starts to reappear and there are a limited number of weeks that the winter steals the light.