Monday, December 8, 2014

Weekend ReCap

Hello out there, everyone! How was your weekend?

Ours was nice. We stayed around home for once, which was nice, and allowed us to get a lot done around the house. We took in some North Star Junior High Basketball as part of their District Tournament on Friday evening. Of the games we saw, the girls won against Fort Benton, and the boys lost against Chinook. The girls went on to win the entire tournament, beating out a very tough Box Elder Bears team. Our boys finished the tournament in fourth place, but earned high accolades for never giving up and displaying excellent sportsmanship. In my opinion, those qualities are just as important as winning.

Apparently we had freezing fog overnight that night because when I woke up Saturday morning, our environment was transformed into a beautiful frosty wonderland:
I now wish I had taken more photos of this. It was so lovely outside! I drove into town to get my Bountiful Basket, and they didn't seem to have the same effect that far south (twenty miles). By end of day, it had burned off, but it was really pretty while it lasted!

Saturday afternoon, our friend Tom from Fort Benton took some time in between his daughter's basketball games to visit our farm and take a driving tour. It was great to host him and always feels awesome when someone wants to drive all the way up to Almost-Canada to see where we live and spend time with us.

While driving around, we saw a beautiful Snowy Owl perched on a telephone post. Jeff got a few photos, getting as close as he could without scaring the owl away. We discussed whether it was a Snowy Owl or just a Barn Owl with it's winter coloring. Jeff was sure it was a Snowy. Afterwards, I did a brief internet search just to learn more. Snowy Owls live above the Arctic Circle during summer months and only come this far south in the winter (hard to think of where we live as being "this far south" from anywhere!). Barn Owls, while they can have white coloring in the winter, tend to have a more mottled white and brown or tan appearance. Additionally, Barn Owls are strictly nocturnal, so it would have been highly unlikely that we would have seen one during the middle of the day, although we do have some Barn Owls around.
Snowy Owl!
The weather was by and large pretty nice over the weekend, so I got some good outdoor runs in, too. Here's a bunch of photos from Harvey and I out for a few walks and jogs...
Running in tire tracks on a section line.
 I went for a nice jog on Friday afternoon before our snow melted, and followed in someone's tire tracks. It really is more of a workout on the snow, I think.
Harvey cuts across a stubblefield to catch up to me.
 I had gone a different way than I normally do, and Harvey was momentarily confused! Also, it's nice that we no longer have to wear our blaze orange vests as big game hunting season has ended. Harvey still wore his red hoodie, though. It was around 20 degrees for this run.

 After a while, the tire tracks I was running in disappeared, so I decided to follow in the clear path of animal tracks. I love how winter snow can reveal the paths little creatures take, and I figured they'd know the best path to run on, and why would I know better than them?  Looks like mostly fox or coyote tracks, based on the size.
 The landscape where we live is very flat, as you've undoubtedly noticed. I used to think that it was boring, but I've really come to appreciate the subtlety and nuance that does exist. From the perspective of a runner, too, I think running out here makes me mentally tougher. I'm used to having to entertain myself while I run-- no music, no varied scenery or people watching. Just the sound of my feet on the ground, and looking out at the wildlife. This next photo was taken about a mile and a half away from my house, looking back towards home.

The next image is just a fun shot of Harvey doing some digging. This dog LOVES to dig! We've had a surge in population of pocket gophers, which are sort of like a mix between a mouse and a mole. They dig these big mounds of soft dirt and Harvey will catch their scent in there and just dig like crazy!
After this walk, Harvey had a bath!
Sunday, I went through my Stitch Fix Box and tried on all my stuff and made those decisions, then Jeff and I went to Havre for some errands and then to dinner and a movie. We saw MockingJay. It was pretty good, but nothing unexpected. If you're a fan of the series, you'll like it.

So that's about it for us! What did all of you do over the weekend? 

4 comments:

  1. Gorgeous pictures, WOW! I just love all these snowy owl near you! Looks like a perfect day for a run.

    Matilda isn't a digger, but then again she doesn't have pocket gophers nearby. I bet she would be if she did!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yes! We have large birds of prey in abundance around here! There's been a Golden Eagle hanging around in the neighborhood this fall and winter, too, but they're much harder to get close enough to for a photo. They're so big that I always fleetingly worry that the eagle might swoop down and pick up Harvey in his talons and carry him off!

      I bet you're right, that Matilda would love to dig if presented with the right opportunity! Gotta love vizslas! :)

      Delete
  2. I love those wide open spaces. I am so not a mountains girl :) Hope you guys are catching some of this amazing weather up north. It is supposed to be almost 60 todau!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. We are definitely getting some warm weather, but I don't think it has been as warm here as it has been for you. Yesterday it was right around 50 in town, and 47 or so on our farm. Today it was 45 in town and a little less at home. Great weather to get outside!

      Delete

Thanks for reading my blog! I would love to hear what you think of this post in your comments.