A new year and new stuff.

Here's my new Christmas kitten, Tommy Two Tone.



I spotted him the day after Christmas in the feed store. Brad gave him the old 'scratch behind the ear' test to see if he would purr. He passed the test with flying colors. I noticed he didn't use his claws to hang on to me, but to be double sure that he was of sound mind and character, I took him over to the little waterfall in a fish tank to gage his reaction. He wanted to play in the water. Brad said, "lets get him"! William asked if it wasn't just an impulse buy and I assured him it was. That's why kittens are so cute after all. I also added that Wildairo was acquired on impulse just the same as he was.

On the way home T2T lay on his back on my lap playing. Totally relaxed. At home the two Airedales trotted up to see him and he buried his kitten fangs into Bobby's huge nose and his claws deep into her face fur. After that the dogs would avert their noses away him when he walked by. By the next day everyone was friends. He's got grumpy old Patches, who's totally devoid of personality, playing tag. Tommy Two Tone comes when he's called and is a wonderful lap kitten.

Talking about grumpy old men playing; the two mustang colts love to buck and have mad half hours. This morning Foxsun was fully involved in the mustang games. He was an only horse for 20 years and hasn't played with other horses since his childhood in Wyoming. Cows don't play much so it's been a long time since he played 'stand on your hind legs and box'.

One of the local coyotes came by the other morning to have an apple snack. He dug through the snow under the apple tree to get some old apples to eat.





After he left his calling card he trotted across the frozen snow in search of more food.





Rodents tunnel through the snow and the keen ears of the coyote can hear their little happy squeaks, making them easy prey for our local little wolves even in the winter time.

New years eve I had to go for yet another doctors appointment in Spokane and I took some photos of highway 28. It's a lonely stretch of road through the wheat fields between Odessa and Davenport almost 50 miles away. It was closed a few days ago because of the drifts.





We passed the snow plough because 'little jeep don't need no stinking snow plough'.

While in Spokane I saw a hard working mustang clearing snow so I took a picture. They even put a picture on it of it of a horse that looks like Echo, acting up.



I got a new camera for Christmas, so I'll donate my old pre-turn of the century camera and the backpack I use to carry it in, to the local museum.