Like everywhere else in the Rocky Mountain region of the northwest, the winter of 2026 has been extremely mild in our neighborhood. To a point of concern. There have been many prayers for moisture, particularly in the higher elevations. Prayers that we will have enough moisture to offer green grass on dryland areas, and enough water to fill reservoirs for irrigation later on in the year. As a born and raised farm girl, I understand the significance of water, especially in the western United States. “Water is King in the West,” my dad always says. And boy, is that certainly…
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We woke up to our first blanket of snow this morning. The wonderful world of white bringing an insulation not only to the ground, but also to the air. The sound of everything somehow seems softer when there’s snow on the ground. I love the first snow. There is something utterly peaceful about the wet white stuff that I cling to all winter long. That first snowfall there is peace, but there is also excitement crested with an adequate layer of chaos. That early morning squeal from my littles when they first look out the window, followed by an hour…
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We had our first frost last Monday. Though this is our first autumn season in our current area — and everything is new — the first frost still came as a bit of a surprise. I had fully expected to have another two weeks before that first layer of frost coated my garden, and the weather report indicated five degrees above freezing. I suppose the weather had other plans because frost it did. The frost was light, and within a few hours of daylight, my favorite crew of littles had helped me dig up all the potatoes, pick all the…



