sledding sideways

despite the thermometer showing 4 degrees that morning, the fresh snow was irresistible. in the front paddock of gobble hill, my friend damian and i forged some good trails for sledding. during the fun, the neighbors passed by in their pickup asking if they could bring the kids.

a winter's hike

a handful of us met in the nearby town of rosendale where we met with local friend, rachel. she guided us to a farm hidden off the roads. rich and karen and their dog joey brought us on a hike through the woods, and up the ridge where we had nice views. buster and joey became fast friends and we passed some horses, ice falls and even a frozen-dead hedgehog.

afterwards, we went to a favorite local hangout, market market, for champagne and snacks. the owner, jeff, welcomed buster inside where he chose to sprawl across my lap and chair. jeff gave him some nice smoked turkey as a snack, and the waiter gave him bacon. next time, we will order what buster has.

new year's eve

for new year's eve, we were visited our "camp" where we used to rent before gobble hill. it was a potluck dinner with many friends. along with the constant snow, there was plenty of wine, roasted pork loin, tuna casserole, carrot soup, green pozole and jalapeño cornbread, eggplant-mushroom stew over rice, cranberry upside down cake, chocolate cake with ganache, and homemade chocolate chip cookies. of course, buster made sure to feel an equal member at the table. afterwards, we went to the back farm fields, launched fireworks and sparklers, and threw some snowballs. long after midnight, buster looked at us wondering when he could go to bed.

a pre-christmas visit

before heading to new york and d.c. for christmas, cynthia visited gobble hill for a couple days. we played pool with the locals, drank wine and hung out by the fire hoping the snow would come our way. most importantly, she serenaded us with her ukulele. amazing!

more turkeys!