Thanksgiving...

 Another Thanksgiving and the group keeps getting smaller. There were just a couple of neighbors over this year; it seems like only a few years ago when we celebrated with a dozen or more friends and neighbors. People move on, move away, or ultimately pass on. But it's still good to sit down with friends and share a good meal.

The goings on in the world gives less reason for thanks. It seems like the current political climate is just one of constant bickering and turmoil. Maybe the best view is from Charles Dickens that was quoted in the local newspaper: 

“It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of light, it was the season of darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair.”

Perhaps we're entering the Season of Unreason…So here's another sunset photo, maybe something light to appreciate in darkening times.

Sunsets...

 This is the time of year when the sun is so low in the sky, it's only about 6° above the horizon at solar noon, that we get these great sunsets.  Here's some random shots that Andy and I took in the last few days.

The sun was just starting to set when we had the dogs off for their free run around 2:30. Andy took this with her iPhone.

So about a half hour later I got these shots with my trusty old Canon.

The alpenglow really takes off this time of year as the sun gets lower in the sky.

The sunset lasts for over half an hour; plenty of time for pics.

One final shot that Andy took a few days ago. Lights up the whole sky like a volcano or forest fire; pretty impressive!

First Dog Run...

 Finally got the dogs out when the rains of September and October turned to snow and the soggy ground froze. The trail along the Hot Springs road was flooded in places, but the cold weather last week froze over the ponds, while the snow this weekend covered the ice to safely traverse these bad spots. I thought it was much later than last years start, but a check of the dog runs showed it was a few days earlier. Memory, go figure.

Coming back to the dog yard, the dogs wanted to stop at the trailhead where we hook up and I wanted them to go all the way back into the dog yard. You can see who won that one. Gus knows the trails and he stops pretty much where he wants to.