Winter Wonderland

We had a foot of snow in Eldorado yesterday morning. We all had fun outside enjoying our good fortune at having a winter wonderland just before Christmas!

Playing in the snow

Karin, Carlos and Victoria have come to spend our first Christmas in New Mexico with us. Victoria doesn't get to see snow in Texas very often, and was so anxious to play in our snow here. Yesterday we went up into the mountains north of Pecos where there is a lot of snow on the ground, and we all played in the snow.

Now there is a lot of snow in our forecast for Christmas, and we keep looking out the windows of our house to see how much has fallen.

O Christmas Tree

The tree is up and decorated and it doesn't look half bad. (Okay so it needed a little grafting and tweaking to make it presentable.)




I need to go read the instruction book and learn how to take pictures of lights in a dim room.

Interloper on our land

We own an empty lot just down the road from our house. We have had it since 1992, and visited it many times through the years. It seems kind of strange to now own a home just down the same road. We drive by our lot nearly every day.

Today John was driving to the post office, and there in the road by our property was a coyote. When he saw the truck coming towards him, he moved up into our lot, and John was able to get a few pictures of him.

We hear coyotes frequently in the night, but never see them during the day so this was a bit unusual. I always thought they were nocturnal animals.

John thought the sighting was cool. I am sorry I missed seeing it.

Coyotes are a familiar part of traditional Native American lore. From Wikipedia:

Traditional stories from many Native American nations include a deity whose name is translated into English as "Coyote". Although especially common in stories told by southwestern Native American nations, such as the Diné and Apache, stories about Coyote appear in dozens of Native American nations from Canada to Mexico.

Usually appearing as a trickster, a culture hero or both, Coyote also often appears in creation myths and etiological myths. Although usually appearing in stories as male, Coyote can also be female or even a hermaphrodite, in some traditional Native American stories.

Yeast biscuits

I have finally found a biscuit recipe which rises nicely, turns out light and soft, and so far has been successful for me in our 7,000 foot altitude. If you are like me and have had problems in the past making good biscuits - try this recipe. Lots of leavening - yeast, baking powder and baking soda must be the secret!


YEAST BISCUITS

1 envelope active dry yeast
1/4 cut very warm water
5 cups unsifted all purpose flour
2 tablespoons sugar
2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 cup butter
2 cups buttermilk

1. Preheat oven to 450º.
2. Sprinkle yeast over water in 1 cup measure. ("Very warm water" feels comfortably warm - not hot - when dabbed on the wrist.)Stir to dissolve yeast; let stand while preparing remaining ingredients.
3. In large bowl, combine flour, sugar, baking powder, salt and baking soda.
4. Cut in butter with a pastry blender (or two dinner knives) until the mixture is crumbly.
5. Add buttermilk and yeast to flour mixture, mixing until a pliable non-sticky dough is formed (add more flour if necessary).
6. Turn out onto a lightly floured surface. Knead 8 - 10 times.
7. Cut off enough dough for one meal; refrigerate the remainder. The dough may be refrigerated, covered, for several days.
8. Roll or pat the dough to a 1/2 inch thickness.Cut into 2" rounds with a floured biscuit cutter. Place biscuits, one inch apart, on an ungreased cookie sheet. Reroll as needed to cut all the dough. Let biscuits rise five minutes.
9. Bake in the preheated hot oven (450º) for 10 minutes or until golden brown.
10. Serve hot.

(These freeze well.)

Snowy Sunday in Eldorado

Pictures by John.

Hey Laurel! Dog pictures for you!

John took these pictures of the dogs out in the fresh snow this morning: