Morning sky

 
I thought this was an interesting shot with the streetlights still on as the sun came up yesterday....it is still pretty cold here(5*F)but, hey, you just put on a coat and do what you have to do!!! Have a great weekend.

Smart Car

 
The first time I saw one of these, I was in Paris, France and could not believe how tiny they were. It is not very often I see one here and more interesting, turns out I work with the owner of this car....usually she walks to work but as you can tell from the photo....not a good day for a stroll yesterday!

ABC Wednesday B is for

 
I actually have a plethora of "B"s today.....birthday cake, beer, baby, blanket. To see more ABC's, the brain child of Denise....and in our 4TH round,....go here.

Icicles

 
Considering the barn door is right behind this icicle, I am surprised it hasn't been broken...it was one LONNNNGGGG icicle......

Gutters?

 
Apparently they have no gutters....quite the icicles aren't they? Love the bird house in the middle of them....this is still out at the Veterinarian's place.

Flower pot

 

I noticed this hanging pot yesterday while I was out with the dogs....it says a lot about how much snow is really in my yard!

ABC Wednesday

 
It is the third round for ABC Wednesday started by Denise.
My choice today is Alcatraz....a place that was very interesting to go and visit.
Please stop over at Denise's if you would like to see more ABC from around the world.

My Vet

 

My vet is a holistic, acupuncturist, chiropractic veterinarian. She lives not too far from me in an unincorporated town with 5 acre minimum parcels. She is a large animal vet first and takes in horses that are abandoned (how does one abandon a horse? not like dumping a cat or dog out in the country I imagine!)...she has 24 horses.....she is also a cat rescue and I guess a dog rescue as well as there are about , oh I don't know ....MANY dogs.....15 at one count. Clancy, the black lab, has hurt his knee and I am trying to avoid knee surgery for him. So we are out here every other day for therapy and let me tell you how much he loves it. The vet uses the little house off to the right in this photo as her clinic for small animals. There are currently 8 cats in residence. I was not sure Clancy would do well with the cats as he has never seen one. I figured it would be "lunch" for him...but he does not mind the cats as they literally walk all over him. The dogs on the other hand....not so much.....This is just around the corner from the house with the hidden Christmas lights!

Christmas lights

 
What I was trying to show here were the Christmas lights that are buried under all the snow but they really did not show up ....But I do like the way the tree is in focus in the front. This is a house not too far from where I live...it is actually next to the vet I use....she has a vet practice out of her barn....I will show that tomorrow.

Snow Removal

 
We have had so much snow that when they plow at work, we have lost spaces to park. These nice fellows are part of our maintenance staff and they are trying to remove some snow from a few of the parking places.....it was fun to watch them NOT hit each other--or any of the cars!

Welcome

 
Along with the yarrow not getting cut and dried, our little welcome lab got left outside as well...it is now frozen to the ground and has become an immovable object. Of course, it IS -19F today (-28C) and school was canceled. I would like to think I am not a weather wimp but.....that is pretty darn cold....especially if your car breaks down and one would have to walk some place....

Brrrrrr

 
All that is left of my summer garden are these Yarrow plants. I thought I was going to cut them and dry them and use them in an arrangement....at least that was the plan.But as you can see, that didn't happen.....they certainly look cold with frozen snow on them....

This morning

 
You might think it is foggy but in reality it is snowing a very fine misty snow.....We have had 36" of snow so far this winter, which is 3 times what we normally have at this point of winter.

up at the BIG house

 

There is a subdivision not too far from where I live that has 5 acre MINIMUMS.....and mostly they are much larger than that....it is unincorporated so many homes also have barns for horses. I was trying to figure out where the front door was on this house....I am not sure I would want to clean this one!

snow at night

 
Practicing my night shots.....on .......SNOW...Yep...snowed again last night...I really like the snow so I am not REALLY complaining. It is just that our state seems to have run out of funds-for salt (you have heard of our Governor, Rod Blogoveich, right?) -or maybe it is the paying of the snowplow drivers...so driving is difficult (they could buy cinders or some biodegradable stuff I think -we live in the NORTH for crying out loud). When you live in a climate like Chicago or the North, one expects snow and the whining about it does not one whit of good so you get used to it....it is the lack of salt-and plowing- that I find annoying....oh yeah, and the embarrassment of our governor.

Characters

 
This seemed an to be an unusual display of little clay figures. Turns out there is a tradition in parts of Germany where you display your village and this is where you would go to buy something you didn't feel like making yourself. Although I am pretty sure I haven't been aware that elephants live in Germany but then...what do I know?

What a sky

 
This is what it looked like in our backyard today. Snow is on the way so I guess I will enjoy the break while I can.

Where has all the snow gone

 
If you look, you will see a bit of snow left. We have had many feet of snow the month of December....a record setting amount......and then it hit 50* and then dropped to 20* and then snowed again. Now, there is just a bit left.....and the dogs are missing it! They love the snow.

Niagara Falls

 
Not an offical theme day participant, but this is one of my favorite photos from 2008. On our trip to Montreal, we stopped to see Niagara Falls, on the Canadian side......hope you enjoy and have a Happy New Year!