Weather!

Travel Lane County, our local Visitors Information Center, uses a descriptive tag line: "See all of Oregon in Lane County." We could have a similar one for yesterday's weather: See all of Oregon weather in 24 hours! The morning dawned in a crystalline fog, making the grass crunchy underfoot and icing cobwebs into visibility. A few hours later, the sun burst forth from cloudless skies to warm the day, enticing me outdoor to do chores rather than attend to indoor ones.

Barn cats Blue (a Snowshoe Siamese) and Pangur Ban (named for a cat in an Irish poem) kept me company, catching rays instead of mice.

As predicted, the afternoon witnessed a march of clouds from the coast. Overnight, a cold front blew in. Windows rattled and trees swayed, and the rain was intense. When I peered out at first light, I could see No Alpacas beyond their shelters.

After enjoying a cup of coffee and the Farm Report, I glanced out the window to discover fat, slow snowflakes falling all around! They made a valiant try of whitening the landscape, but the ground temperature was not cold enough for snow to stick.

Mike ventured out to open gates while I started breakfast. Kelly only wanted out long enough to do her business, then return indoors.

Snow melted, further hydrating the mud. Skies cleared and reclouded alternately throughout the day.

The alpacas are pretty oblivious to all this. If sleet pelts down, they run to get under trees until it passes. During such weather patterns, they have accessibility to shelter, if they choose to use it. Most just continue grazing.