Fall Fun

Here is a rambling update on some events from the past week..... Last Thursday, most of the state of Colorado had the privilege of being hit by a winter storm. The metro area of Denver experienced up to a foot of snow in some areas, while the mountain towns received up to two feet! What else did we receive? Well, take the fact that many trees still have their leaves on them and add a thick, wet snow and you get lots of broken branches. Here is a picture of the one that fell in our backyard, by far the largest one I saw in the neighborhood that day. Despite the size and the amount of clean-up involved, I know it could've been much worse. Fortunately, only two planks in our fence were broken and the house was spared entirely. We are indeed counting our blessings. Of course, all the cold weather means that our many animals must snuggle up with us and even each other to stay warm. Here are a couple of typical (and not so typical) ways to keep warm. Finally, last evening found Jess and I partaking in what is becoming a fall tradition - carving pumpkins with her niece, Sydney, and nephew, Max. They are full of innovative ideas for carving but are a bit averse to scooping the "guts" out of the pumpkins. Here is a shot of them with all the pumpkins as well as a close up of Jess's pumpkin, where she did a great job of illustrating the animated actions of our youngest cat, Wayne.