Brrrrrrrr. . .

It's been bitter cold lately! The Subaru clocked a record -17 degrees on Tuesday! This is Colorado, not the Arctic! Despite our better judgment, Ryan & I ventured outside for some snowy pics. Brrrrrr....

The Upside of Jet Lag. . .

...an amazing sunrise!

18 Inches

While on my trip to the Mediterranean, the ranch received 18 inches of snow with waist-deep drifts. Ryan snapped this photo after a failed attempt to get up our driveway.

Wildfire at the Ranch

Yesterday was a crazy day! There was an uncontrolled wildfire just up the street from our house. It was caused by a blown transformer due to high winds. They evacuated our entire neighborhood around 3pm. Ryan was home at the time the fire started and said that the smoke was incredibly dense and was coming into the house. He opened the car door to load up our valuables and the dogs instantly jumped in and looked at him nervously communicating "Let's get out of here!" The high winds were giving the Fire Dept a challenge. But at 8:30pm the fire was under control and they allowed about half of the neighborhood to return home - including us. This morning the Larimer County Emergency Update reported that about 200 acres have burned. Thankfully, no one was hurt & all homes have been spared. It still smells like a campfire, but we are thankful to be back home safe & sound. Here are some pics from the news choppers.

A Sunset Storm

Another picturesque moment at the ranch.

More Storms

A storm blew in tonight and the clouds were amazing! This is the house just northwest of ours. I couldn't resist snapping this picture. It looks like something out of the movie Twister. Shockingly enough, we had 2 tornado touch downs in Fort Collins on Monday. Good thing we live in a concrete bunker.

Ta ta! It looks like rain. . . again!

It has been raining nearly everyday for 3 weeks! I'm starting to forget what sunny Colorado looks like! The good news is that this is the first time in 11 years that our region is drought free. Bring on the rain!

Colorado Blue Sky

We woke up to a blue sky this morning. The snow is beautiful. We received about 18 inches yesterday with snow drifts up to 3 feet.

Snow, snow, & more snow

We are getting much needed snow today. After an extremely dry winter, we welcome precipitation of any kind. We already have 8 inches of fresh snow and it's not letting up anytime soon.

Frosty the Snowman

Ryan and I made a snowman the other day... my first snowman of all time! Shocking, isn't it! Poor Frosty was short lived. The very next morning his head fell off.

Let it Snow!!

It's been snowing since we woke up this morning... and I love it! We've had a really warm fall this year and I've been aching for snow. We already have about 2in and the forecast projects that we could get as much as 9in in the next 36 hours. Our feathered friends are coming to the bird feeder in droves. We even got a second visit from our lone quail. We named him Herb.

Our view

The fall colors at the ranch have been amazing this year!! The scrub brush has gone from yellow to orange and red... it's beautiful! And even though I'm not quite ready for the winter chill, I can't complain about our view. This is right out our sliding door.

Tornados in Northern Colorado

Today was quite a day, about noon we lost power and water by default (since our well pump is electric). There were 8 tornadoes in the area. The major tornado that hit was an F3/F4, nearly a mile wide, and traveled 35 miles. The worst hit was just across I-25 from Fort Collins in Windsor, where houses were leveled. The storm then moved to north Fort Collins and up to Laramie, WY. Here's the play by play at the ranch. Fog, hail, more fog, bigger hail... we watched the main storm cloud travel north towards Laramie. Thankfully we had little to no damage.

As the storm progressed, all of the birds went into a frantic eating frenzy. It was almost as if they thought that our feeder was their last meal. At one point we had 14 goldfinches, 5 grosbeaks, and 5 hummingbirds at once!! The rarer birds flocked to the house as well. We saw an oriole & an indigo bunting.

Our power returned just before 7pm as Cindy & I settled down to eat our melting ice cream. The sunset was still a bit ominous but beautiful.

Full Moon Rising

Ryan and I just witnessed the most amazing moon rise! It looked like the sun... an amazing deep red surrounded by twinkling stars. What an amazing night!

Sunday Afternoon Hike

Yesterday after church we set out for the Poudre Canyon for an afternoon hike. The sky was the most amazing blue and the weather was great. We came across several mountain lion dens including the one below... but no mountain lions, thankfully!

Winter Wonderland

It has been snowing off and on for a couple days now, transforming the Ranch into snowy paradise. Everything is covered in frosty crystals. It was whopping 15˚ outside this morning.

Another Amazing Sunset at the Ranch

This sunset was crazy. The sky started glowing and then darkened to reveal an ominous storm-like cloud.

Our First Sail on the Blue Yonder

On Wednesday afternoon we went for our first sail on the Blue Yonder! We sailed underneath the Golden Gate Bridge and out into the Pacific. It was pleasantly chilly and enjoyable! But.. we did notice quite a bit of oil sludge in the water and were wondering what had happened. All the coast guard would say was that "they were aware of the problem and were generating a response." We sailed on and soaked up the sights!

First Snow

Last Sunday morning we had our first snow here at the Ranch. It was beautiful and it made us anxious for winter.

Amazing Sunset

We have some incredible sunsets at the Ranch, but I think that this one takes the cake. It was ridiculous!