Snow~and LOTS of it!!!

I emailed Cathy, the ranch owner, to see if I'd make it up to their ranch Sunday morning.  I wasn't sure if I could because Friday afternoon and evening and even Saturday they were receiving snow.  It actually got down to about 4,000 feet in our local mountains and that's the elevation where their ranch is located.  She emailed me back and said yes, indeed, they actually HAD received snow.  In fact, they were down in the desert Friday afternoon (she had a doctor's appointment) and they had to drive back up the hill Friday evening...shudder...she said a truck in front of them skidded OFF the road and crashed!  She said they just drove "nice and slow-like" and made it home safely.  So, I dot to thinking that you know, I don't recall a storm this late in April for many, many years.  March, yes...but not April.  By the time of my Spring break, it's usually up into 90 degrees here in the desert (and mid-week this week, it is SUPPOSED to be up in the 90's here).  I made it up to the ranch just fine.  The highway was plowed and I took my time.  The local mountains were indeed covered with fresh snow and even some yucca blossoms had water dripping off of them.  By the time I turned around to come home, a LOT of the snow had melted or was melting.  What a difference a few hours makes!  there were some spots of snow still up at the ranch and it was windy.  I fed all the horses an extra meal of feed, Bermuda pellets, beet pulp shreds, and some CocoSoya oil.  Yum, yum!!!  They are all pretty muddy right now, so I'm hoping to brush them all out next weekend.  It was VERY muddy up there today, so I didn't take any of them out.  Between my knee and the mud...oye!  I saw two Cooper's hawks looking for their lunch while I was up there today and a coyote running along the road on my way back.  He/she was loping right along the highway, so I honked my horn and yelled "GIT!" as he ran away from the oncoming cars.   I hate to see any animal hit by a car and so far this year, I've seen one deer, three gray foxes, and 1 coyote hit.  Oh, and two stray dogs...sigh...But, on a good note, there ARE more wildflowers blooming now, with all the recent rain from the storms that have moved in.  Next weekend, I'll stop and take photos of some of the little yellow ones along the road.  Last photo is of a former thoroughbred breeding farm which now boards horses.  It's at the corner of the turnoff to Aguanga and Anza, on Highway 74.  I like to drive by it and take photos, when I can.  Unfortunately, the side of the road was covered with snow and I couldn't find the turnouts!