Tranquille - Clear and Sunny

The sky is blue and
the sun is shining - mind the
chill when the wind blows

~ carliewired

I dawdled this morning. It was almost 10 when I stepped outside the garage to clear the driveway. It was -19 C but calm and bright. No wind came up so I was thankful. We'd received a trace of snow yesterday but the wind carved drifts overnight. There was a heap in front of my front door and a stretch across the driveway that had crusted. I had it cleared in 20 minutes and was on my way to Tranquille. 

I stopped to get some shots from Tranquille Farm looking across the waterfowl pond to my mountains in the east. The pond cannot be detected now. It is completely covered in snow. There's no waterfowl to be seen anywhere. 

I got a shot of Tranquille Farms looking west across the now invisible pond. Then I had a look south towards the river where I could see a large herd of cattle wintering. 

I drove on to Tranquille River (really a creek, but listed as a river) where the water was completely frozen. I could not hear any water running under the ice. When I stepped out of the truck I thought I heard someone chopping wood. It turned out to be a pileated woodpecker working hard on a cottonwood tree. 

I made a careful turnaround and headed for home. I made a short stop at the grocery store in case this snow storm we're supposed to get tonight keeps me home until I can dig out. I stopped at the drive-thru for my second coffee of the day and was home before 1 PM. 

I will be stitching quilt blocks today. It will be another quiet day at home. 

The forecast is for a high of - 15 C with mixed sun and cloud today. We've been issued a snowfall warning of 10 to 15 cm overnight.