Picture of the Day for April 19, 2015

While the bells may not toll for services on a regular basis  for this church, with the sliver of the moon on the right side of the cross in the sky, it makes a pretty image for a Sunday morning. I couldn’t find much history on the Millston Union Church, other than for the second wedding in September, in which the altar was banked with lilac leaves and decorated with mixed garden flowers.

Millston Union Church

Millston Union Church

Picture of the Day for April 18, 2015

The Glory-of-the-Snow are not a wildflower, but they are ‘wild’ since they escaped about 150 feet from where I originally had them planted and now a cluster of blue is in the woods. It was a pleasant surprise to see when only a few varieties of flowers are open yet but I hope it doesn’t snow on the Glory-of-the-snow.

The ‘Wild’ Glory-of-the-Snow

The 'Wild' Glory-of-the-Snow

Picture of the Day for April 17, 2015

The pink striped petals of the Spring Beauty wildflower are a welcome sign of the arrival of spring, even if there is a mention of snow in forecast.  The flower is one of the most common native perennials in eastern North America which grows small roots that remind people of tiny potatoes, hence the nickname “Fairy Spuds” and can be eaten, although it would take a lot of them for a meal!

The Pink of the Spring Beauty

The Pink of the Spring Beauty

 

Picture of the Day for April 15, 2015

Most states have a natural rock bridge and some have a number of famous ones and Wisconsin has its own natural bridge in the unglaciated Driftless Area weathered from sandstone deposited 1.6 billion years ago. The arch opening is 25 wide and 15 feet high.

The rock shelter on the right side, is 60 feet wide and 30 feet deep and when an archaeological excavation of the rock shelter was conducted in 1957, the oldest artifacts were dated between 9000 and 8000 BC, making the rock shelter one of the oldest-dated sites for human occupancy in northeastern North America. Evidence indicates that the shelter was used only periodically at first, perhaps as a hunting or seasonal camp for Paleo-Indians hunting Mastodons or Wooly Mammoths. Later the shelther was inhabited year-round.

Wisconsin’s Natural Bridge

Wisconsin's Natural Bridge

Picture of the Day for April 12, 2015

The snow must have fallen on the robin’s tail this past week and now it is officially spring since I finally spotted the first wildflower open yesterday and the frogs are singing. The flower was partially open yesterday but fully open this morning. The Sharp-loded Hepatica is the first wildflower to open in my woods each spring and since the blossom is less than an inch across, they can be easily overlooked since the foliage comes after they bloom. It was windy this morning so trying to capture the tiny blossom swaying on the hairy stalk was a challenge.

The First Wildflower of Spring

The First Wildflower of Spring

Picture of the Day for April 11, 2015

Today was the Indianhead Polled Hereford Association Spring Opportunity Sale where established breeders and first time consignors had bulls. cows and heifers for sale. Even a little boy got to raise a bidder number (when said so) as the cattle were auctioned off. And this heifer was a granddaughter of a heifer purchased at a previous Indianhead sale.

Hereford Heifer at Auction

Hereford Heifer at Auction