Christmas with Reed

Our grandson Reed is now 3 months old and this is his first Christmas.



Getting the jolly little elf ready.



Reed dressed in his Santa suit.



Santa Reed stating his case to Grandma as to why he should be on the "Nice" list.



Santa Reed's sled dogs.



Reed, in his "big boy" clothes and Mommy (nice antlers Lexi).





Reed with Grandpa Sanders.



Flannel pajama time.

Frosty

The Winter solstice in the Northern Hemisphere will be at 5:44 AM on Wednesday, December 21, but this morning the temperature was a frosty 5F. Over the weekend we got 0.66 inches of rain and this morning's cold snap coated trees and other outdoor objects with a layer of frost.

Moonlight & Snow

Early Tuesday evening a snow storm passed through the neighborhood and dumped a couple of inches of snow. By 9:00PM the storm was over and the sky was starting to clear and reveal the bright full moon. As I prepared for bed around 11:30PM I was amazed at how bright it was outside. I was able to take this photo of our back lawn using just the light from the moon.



The fresh snow was clinging to the trees and helped to add detail.



After reviewing my moonlit photos from Tuesday night, I decided to photograph some more of the neighborhood by moonlight. The moon was nearly full and the sky was clear last night, but the snow was no longer clinging to objects as it did the night before. The temperature was 18F when I started my moonlit foray around 11:30PM and drove to our cabin property. It was bright enough that I drove up the cabin driveway with the truck lights turned off and surprised some deer feeding along the edge of the road. The red glow is from the truck brake lights. House lights and a couple of stars are visible in the background.



A shot of the lawn at the cabin and tracks in the snow leading to the outhouse. Not sure if the deer were using the outhouse or maybe the deer were familiar with the 1976 book by Erma Bombeck, entitled "The Grass Is Always Greener over the Septic Tank".



A midnight view from the cabin looking west toward our barn.



A midnight view of our barn from the corn field. I counted at least 9 deer leave the corn field area as I approached with the truck headlights off. It was hard for the deer to hide in the bright moonlight.

Catching Snowflakes

A light snow continued to fall today and it looked like this deer was catching snowflakes on it's tongue.

Let It Snow ...

Today was the last day of the Pennsylvania deer season and I found this group of deer looking for a meal during a lake-effect snow squall.



This young deer is getting to experience snow and cold weather for the first time.



The snow came down quickly and soon covered the backs of the deer.



The deer were able to dig through the thin layer of fresh snow to find some tender green grass.

Visit From The Grandkids

Its been a busy Thanksgiving week this year. This was the first Thanksgiving with a visit our Grandkids at our house and a chance for the two Grandkids to meet each other.

Nikki and 15 month old Myra flew in from Iowa.



Lexi, Matt and 2 month old Reed.



Myra studying her new cousin Reed.



Myra showing Reed Grandma's collection bears.



Myra and Nikki getting to know Reed.



Aunt Nikki teasing Reed with a cookie.



Myra checking out the new toys that her Aunt Diana brought.



Myra playing with a puzzle.



Myra stacking blocks.



Reed had to sit with his mother and watch as Myra played with the new toys...





Time for Reed to get involved with the activity on the floor. Photos of the kids on a bear skin rug.



Myra with "Bearly" the rug.



Mr. Reed wrestling the bear.



Reed goofing around with "Bearly"



Myra showing "Bearly" Grandma's collection of bears.



One of Grandma's bears needed to be cleaned.



Myra saying goodbye to her Uncle Brad.



After more than a week with the Grandparents, Mr. Reed is strapped into his car-seat and has to head home.

Deer Scouting

Next week is the start of the Pennsylvania Rifle Deer season and I've been watching the neighborhood bucks. This guy was more interested in some of the local female deer than he was with me.



When the bucks are in the "Rut", looking for doe, they tend to concentrate more on the doe than some of the other dangers around them, such as people and cars.



This guy was grabbing a snack while he was waiting for me to leave.

A Change in the Weather

Yesterday was a rare November day with the temperature in the low 70's(F) and sunny, but that all changed overnight. Within a couple of hours the temperature dropped nearly 40 degrees and it started snowing. It was our first snowfall this season.

I was out early to get some photos of the fresh snow. The view of Joyce Road from the end of our driveway.



A flock of geese landing on Miner's Pond at the top of the hill.



A view from the corn field behind our barn.



Some of our firewood covered with snow.



It's always a warm feeling knowing you have a winter's supply of firewood ready before the first snow storm.



One of the neighborhood's whitetail deer studying the new snow (and wondering what happened to the warm weather).