Winter has Come

I was reminded this evening that I have a blog. 

And then I noticed it's been nearly two months since my last entry. 

So a few words, and few scenes from home.

We gave Tristan and Tashi bows and arrows over the holidays, and then Dan surprised me with my very own. So we have some serious archery practice going on around here. Well, sort of serious.

Being a product photographer is fun (especially when the product is fun), and it is also very helpful in that it forces me to tidy the house sometimes. Tristan's room had major rehab one day before I took some shots of unicorns. 

And our room is always far more romantic when the bed is made and there is heart buck on the wall.

Skye dog continues to be awesome.

And particularly awesome in the snow, which we got a lot of last week. She seems to have some arctic blood. She chooses to leap through the snow banks like a fox, rather than walk on the road. And the cold damp doesn't stop her from tunneling her snout through the depths seeking unsavory treats.

The kids made a sledding slope out of our deck stairs.

There is nothing like a good snow dump to make you slow down, play, sit by the fire, appreciate the light, savor the silence, and accomplish some overdue indoor tasks. 

There was the first storm, which shut schools down for a couple of days and caused delays all week. And there was the second storm, where a couple of expected inches turned into several hours of unexpected accumulation. 

Alas, we truly have had a winter experience and spring is now most welcome to arrive!

And finally, we watched the Oscars, which was a good excuse for making these Cheddar Stars.

Yes, these are some scenes from deepest winter in our home. 

Here is a dreamy song called Winter is Coming by Australian singer, Matt Corby, non-official snowy video found on YouTube.

a little bit of skye

anyone who is a friend of mine on social media knows all about our new dog, skye, as the postings for the last three weeks have been naught else. 

and three weeks it will be exactly, tomorrow, on thanksgiving, from when we adopted her from the atlantic region central border collie rescue.

we are indeed very thankful to have this amazing kindred spirit and gentle soul join us. 

this is the first time we met skye. amazing with tristan and tashi and so very, very happy to make our acquaintance. it was love at first sight. she has her paw on tristan's lap here, letting us know that we are to be her humans.

and this is adoption day. we picked her up at her foster mom's workplace in charlottesville, and drove home with a new baby. we were all smiles.

we don't know much of her back story. she is not quite two, possibly a pure red border collie, or maybe has a little bit of something else mixed in. she is recovering from a leg injury that likely resulted from a car. she is not supposed to run just yet, but this girl sure wants to bound and sprint in the great out of doors! that is our biggest challenge, encouraging her to take it easy when we are out in nature.

and she now makes ours a house of three pets. luna and loki cat were a little put out, but frankly, are taking it so very much better than i could have ever imagined. the cats co-exist in the same room as her,  cautiously slip past her, and sometimes tell her who is boss. skye is totally passive around them, but for an occasion or two when she seems to want to play. the cats are not quite ready for that!

this girl gets us out the door, rain, shine, or sleet, at 6:30 am, at 12:30am, and many times in between! i have listened to the immense silence of the night, gazed at the brightest of stars, listened to birds in the brush, and awakened to a cold blast of dawn in the throat, while walking our new dog. i am so grateful for this link to nature.

we love snuggling with her and brushing her thick auburn coat. she is comfortable when our eyes lock with her icy blue orbs and likes to give us lots of kisses. she is beyond sweet and such a welcome friend. 

and she is a super-model, yes. we have joined charlottesville's downtown mall dog culture and can't seem to get very far before someone is crooning over her and setting up their tripod!

she is a nearby comfort  in the home and a great mate on the trail. 

we welcome skye, and look forward to all the new places she'll lead us!