I heart U

We had a fun family day yesterday. The kids and I went out to play in the snow...sledding and snowfluff fighting (to dry for snowballs!). My daughter wrote this giant message for her boyfriend before we called it quits on the snow and went inside to make hot cocoa and sugar cookies. Fun day.

Golden Tulips

One of my favorite things each spring is the display of tulips around my home. There are hundreds of bulbs mixed in with daffodils, hyacinths, and irises and the display is gorgeous.

Southwick Grade

I think I have also heard this called the Orofino Grade. This is a shot taken as we went down the grade from Southwick, past Dworshak Dam, and into the small town of Orofino. It is quite a drop with some very dramatic views, a nice twisty motorcycle road, and plenty of road hazards in the way of local wildlife...everytime we have used this road, we have seen (or very narrowly avoided) some sort of critter. One time it was a group of about 30 wild turkeys which was pretty cool.

Orange beauty

How about a bright spot of color today? With our winter wonderland outside right now, I thought I would share yet another of my poppy photos. By now you know how much I love them!

Birds in the Maple tree

Today I did a bit of birdwatching. It was a relaxing day. :) I first noticed the birds in the crab apple tree next door and posted about them on my Palouse Daily Photo blog. Then I noticed a few of these birds in my Maple tree. I am not sure what kind any of them are, but they were fun to watch.

Man's best friend

There is no doubt that my husband loves his dog. None. We have been blessed to have her in our lives for the past nearly 14 years. She is starting to show her age...the hearing is gone, getting up and down isn't so easy...you know how it is. I am just hoping she has a few more good years left in her. This time of year is her favorite...romping in the snow with her 'kids' is something she can still do and have fun.

Yellow daisy

I am feeling a bit 'cold' today...there is a near total whiteout outside my windows, and more snow on the way, so this nice warm looking flower was my pick for the day...no pun intended!

Finally a moose!

Ok, so the photo is awful...blurry and ill composed, but hey, it's a Moose! What is so impressive about a moose you might ask? Well, when we moved to Idaho about 8 years ago, it was my fondest desire to see moose...they are my favorite animal, after all. We lived in Troy, which has moose frequently seen meandering about town, eating the farmers crops, and chasing (and ramming) school buses. Not a difficulty to see a moose...just not when I would have my camera with me!

Fast forward to this past summer. My hubby and I were on a motorcycle ride, two-up. He rides a Kawasaki Ninja and one of our favorite things to do anytime there is not ice on the road, is go for a bike ride. So we headed out for an entire afternoon, just the two of us. Just as it was getting dark, I saw a moose. Camera in hand from the back of a moving bike I took shot after shot in desperation that one might turn out. The light was gone and it was pretty dark, so I didn't have much hope. Then we stopped and turned around...and so did the moose. So we turned around again and so did the moose. Finally we stopped and sat in the middle of the road so it wouldn't be afraid to cross and when it did, we went ahead on our way. I got home to ONE picture that had enough light and not too much blur. But hey, it's a photo...of a MOOSE!

Ice stems

When the snow was finished with us, these branches from my Lilac trees looked beautiful. We didn't get nearly the amount of snow that was predicted...never trust the weatherman, they are just guessing! We did get about 3" though which was plenty for having a bit of fun in. The kids stayed out nearly 2 hours sledding yesterday and came in with bright red cheeks, ready for cocoa! Today it is a balmy 9°, but sunny which is nice.

Steptoe Butte

One of our favorite rides to take with our local motorcycle group is this one up to the top of Steptoe Butte. It is a nice ride through the rolling wheat fields of the Palouse and then a nice spiral one lane road to the top of Steptoe. It was a gorgeous fall day and the visibility was amazing. This photo shows the beginning of the road into the park. In the trees there are some nice picnic areas and they are often empty. I posted more about Steptoe in this post on my Palouse Daily Photo blog.