Snow!

The first snowstorm of the winter has given us over 16 inches (over 41 cm) of snow. While we won't be going into town anytime soon, we dug out our snowshoes and went for a "walk" this afternoon.

We won't be using the table and chairs on our deck until spring! 

Similarly for our lounge chairs and fire pit (hidden behind the table) where we enjoy summer nights under the stars.

My ruler showed about 16 inches of accumulated snow on the table top.

"Snowball" (John has named his car) is a real snowball now!

My snowshoes really are down there in the snow. Mine are "vintage" -- made of wood and rawhide. I bought them 45 years ago when I was in college in Minnesota.

Lon's snowshoes are modern aluminum ones -- bought in 2011 during a winter that had snow on the ground for months -- unheard of this far south.

Sadie and our tracks in the snow.

Here's a video of Sadie (and Dakota) in action:

Sadie likes to bound through the snow rather than walk or run. She leaps about 6 feet (2 meters) at a time. My ski pole is in the snow for a length reference.

As the sun set, the clouds finally started to break up, revealing deep sunset colors.