This is the new 7am view!  We have to drive Duncan 1.5miles to the post office to catch the bus.  It's still dark outside when we leave.  The dash reads 0degrees and the GPS is a glaring reminder that we are in the middle of no where... the dirt road we are driving on isn't even registering on the map. 

By the time we return to the house 15 minutes have passed, the sunrise is a burst of color and the temperature has risen an incredible 2degrees!  We open the car doors to literally a breathtaking chill and hurry in to the fireplace and our hot bowls of porridge which is well received on cold mornings.  

On the wings of eagles

This incredible bird has been visiting us regularly.  He doesn't let me get too close though.  The little boys love using the binoculars.  The other morning there were three of them soaring between the barn and the hay slide.  I mentioned to Patrick that our building site has neither barn, hay slide, nor trees... so I told him to work on an eagle and other wildlife attracting plan. 

So practical.. house first... sigh... then I think perhaps a mini forest and a gazebo, and a pond, and a garden and greenhouse and play area, and barn and guest house ....  ... he says, ''you're getting your cart before your horse."... ooo... a horse!

Jaunt to the ortho

This is just the new jaunt to the orthodontics.  It only took an hour to get there.  The scenery was spectacular.  The temperatures were barely bearable.  The orthodontist was humorous.... He told Whittaker he needed to have teeth to have braces.

Duncan has outgrown all the clothes he moved here with in September.  He's a handsome, tall and lanky fellow, with many new friends.

Along the drive we saw hawks, big horn sheep, mule deer, a moose, rabbits and plenty of magpies. 

One stretch was bitter sweet loveliness.  These are scorched tree trunks over the entire mountain side left from the summer forest fires.

Work to live.

Heard the expression 'eat to live, not live to eat'?  Sometimes that can be easier said than done... especially lately as we watch delicious foods portrayed on the food channels, but when it's 'work to live, not live to work... These boys really got on board.  The only way to stay warm is to have enough firewood and to pack it in to the fireplace. 

Emerson takes his new 'chore' very seriously and never comes in the house without bringing a log.  He assisted unloading the entire trailer load of firewood, which took well over an hour.  As soon as they had unloaded it was time to eat.  He managed to sit at the table and immediately fell asleep.  He has work to live mastered, but needs a little eat to live willpower.