Is Winter Done?

Yesterday we had beautiful weather for this time of year - about a month earlier than usual. It was breezy, the cloudless sky was a vibrant jewel-toned blue, and the temperatures reached above 60 degrees. This morning it was in the high twenties again!! We are very pleased to be leaving the winter this past year. Unlike the first winter we were here, which was breathtaking as well as a bit dangerous, this winter was boring, grey, cold and damp. We are all too happy to see the beginnings of spring. My bulb flowers are rising above the ground's surface, developing buds and beginning to bloom. It is a pleasant surprise as I watch them - last year friends and family gave me bulbs when they thinned out their flower beds, and I really don't remember what or where I planted them.
I hope all our southern friends didn't freeze in your uncharacteristically cold weather.



Georgia is now nearly midway through her recuperation period after her leg surgery. It has been 4 weeks and she needs another 2 weeks before she can go on walks or outside unassisted. So until then we're using a sling to go down steps and a leash for going outside. She is doing very well, though, and adjusting as much as possible to "no running, jumping or playing" (hard to tell that to a Golden Retriever who does figure eights when she is happy). Sometimes it is pretty difficult for her not to break into a happy run. Here she is with her new toy that her aunt gave her:



I am excited that I now have two showrooms for displays of my jewelry and pet portraits. By request, I fashioned a "memory jewelry" line of bracelets and necklaces which contain the pet's name or initials in silver or gold initial beads. Here is a sample for one of the displays:








I also completed some new portraits. These are of a kitty who lived with an animal communicator in California. The cat lived until 25 years of age and helped her owner with the creation of flower essence formulas, among other things.





Ronn has spent the winter shooting baskets in the barn, working on becoming a free throw master. He is serious, because the barn temperatures have rarely been above 40 degrees. Even dressed like a snowman and wearing gloves, he's been out there perfecting his shot every day. Ronn has also been working at doing remote healing. He has been ordained as a minister of the Universal Life Church, a non-religious, deist order supporting all beliefs and practices.

He is a founding member of the NBSA - National Basketball Shooters Association - which will launch this spring with hopes they will grow into an international entity. Some of the best free throw shooters in the world are in this with him.
http://www.nbsafreethrows.org/

Ronn shooting at a practice tournament in Los Angeles in January. He want s to try for a Guinness World Record shooting with alternating hands.






One final note: the deer and elk are back. I now understand that the locals' attitude toward the elk is not the unrestricted joy we felt the first season. It looks like we may have given up some plants in the meditation garden to them, but at least the fences are still standing!! The deer are another story - we are always happy to see them. They have not been as apparent this year, but here is one brave soul who chose to stick around for a while recently:








Well, I guess he didn't like the photo shoot!!