Snow In December!!

It's the 31st December and this is what greeted me on the way to town this morning, it's summer ....... well, it's meant to be ......

Please click on pic for best view.

A Prosperous 2010....

.... to you all, may it be better than the last.

Where's Santa?

Merry Christmas to you all, and thank you for your support of this site.

Boyd's tired of waiting and Alfie's sure he can see him ........

Dragonfly.

I've just found a huge number of these beautiful creatures close to home.....

Please click on pic, best viewed large.

Layers.

White Roses.

The Right Idea!

There's another southerly and rain today..... Boyd was found nice and snug, having made a wee nest on the bed.

Seagull.

This gull was beautiful to watch flying around checking out the food we'd put out for the magpies.

Ruined Cottages.

A derelict old house tucked away in Carterton.

Sheep Dog.

This fella is delightful, he reminds me of a Walt Disney character.

Another Wet Day.

It's rained for the last two days, I'm now very tired of it!

Yesterdays Sunset.

Another Sunrise.

6 Million $ Cat.......

Well, he's heading that way......

He's back in a cell at the vets, he's got a really bad dose of cat flu', despite being vaccinated against it, poor bugger!

Ice.

Warm one day, freezing the next! This is a little pool of water from the rain we had yesterday, turned to ice this morning.

Spring Here?.....

Well, today was a beautiful day, tomorrow back to rain and southerly winds :(

First Rose.

First for us this season!

Sheep Dog Trials.

The "Tux" sheep dog trials were held in the reserve down the road from here this weekend, quite amazing to see them working.

Nerves or Defeat?

I loved this farmer's sheep dog, he looked like quite a character.

Skyline.

Hut.

This little hut is on the top of quite a high ridge just up the road from here. The cabbage tree is magnificent.

Windy Ridge.

I've been admiring these trees + rocky hill side for ages, but the weather had always been wet, windy + dismal each time we'd driven past.

The Boys.

The Lookout...

Boyd decided lying on the wood shed roof was the place to be while I was splitting some wood.

Family Picnic.

These guys are enjoying the first dry, warmer morning in weeks.

This Morning.

They're forecasting snow for later today.......

Fantail.

This is one I took a couple of months ago, the weather has been absolute *^&%$# ! and not able to get out + photograph anything!

WOW.....

....... will ya look at that thing coming up over the hill!!

Recovery Road.

Alfie's really enjoying being out + about again.

Sunshine, At Last!

Two Scoops of Detergent.......

Ooopppss, I didn't realise how grubby the machine was.......

Icy Web.

This is a web on the clothes line after our afternoon snow fall.

Spring????

Spring, they say, global warming they say.... yeah, right!

Alfie's Home...

..... and has the war wounds to prove it! (he has another one on his tummy)

New Home.....

Boyd loves hiding under things, this is a pine slab in the wheelbarrow.

Alfie Update:-

Alfie will be having an excision arthroplasty (the neck and head of the femur are removed) in the next two days, as his hip has dislocated again, while he's been in his cell at the vets. Poor little fella, but it does mean we'll get him home sooner.

Farmhouse.

This is on the way to Palmerston North, where we had to stop for a few minutes, while one of our hard working, crime fighting Police Officers pulled us over for doing 13k over the limit, on an open highway and no other traffic!!!

This appears to be a lovely tranquil spot, until you see the wind turbines in the background, noisy, ugly things these are!

Alfie Update.....

We were woken at 0100 by Boyd yowling his head off, which was a bit strange since we thought he was the cat on the bed, only to find it was Alfie all snuggled up. He wasn't in great shape, so a very early dash to the vet, where he is now being x rayed and treated for trauma to his leg/hip and infection. Boy, are we so happy he's back........

UPDATE:

I've just returned from visiting Alfie, he's heaps better, more like his old self, except for his shaved belly! We could bring him home tomorrow, but we'd have to keep him caged for a week, as he's not allowed to jump. Neither of us are able to keep him caged up, so he'll stay in the holiday camp for the week, he'll have a heated cell and fed three times a day......

R.I.P. Alfie xx

Alfie hasn't been home in two days, which is so out of character. We've heard several lots of gunshot around here........ KG and I are gutted!

Lamb Time.

Our neighbours lambs have just started to arrive, and our peace has just been shattered.....

Homeless.....

Thank goodness for this empty "Coke" carton, poor old Boyd has no where else to go to keep warm and dry from this cold spell......

Back Soon......

There's not a lot happening here, or, I'm just not seeing it! Night shift is not really compatible with photography at present.

I'm going to have to learn to drive the telescope, so I can start taking some different shots, since I now have an attachment to it for my camera.......

Camo Alfie.

Not sure why he's hiding here, he's not a hunter, maybe waiting to pounce on Boyd.

Moon Setting.

Scenes like this on the way home after a night shift are very rewarding, despite there being a heavy frost and it was damned COLD.

Hmmmmm....

Boyd looking a tad on the chubby side and trying to look innocent....... I think he's just eaten the food we put out for the magpies.....

Fantail's Back.

I'm so pleased to see this fella back. I was thinking that "you know who" may have caught up with it.....

Meet The Neighbour.

Not sure what happened to her ears, they're a bit raggedy. It's not as if they have wild terrain to negotiate!

Comfort.

I couldn't resist posting another shot of the boys, they really are cute!

The Really Cute One.

Alfie has slimmed down slightly since this photo was taken, it's amazing how much he enjoyed the spell of warmer weather we've just had.

Orphan.

My mother passed away on July 12th, two and a half years after my Pa. I can't believe they're both now gone, but at least they're together again. RIP.

The Nose Has It.....

I do love photographing things close up, and Boyd was still long enough to capture this.

Night Lights.

This is close to dawn. No tripod used as I was at work.....

Mini Snow Leopards.

The boys didn't mind the snow we had last week at all.