While walking through the woods on my way to fix birdhouses, I spotted a tiny cluster of Spring Beauties which had opened up. Normally they show more pink coloring, but I think all the snow flurries washed the color right out.
The First Spring Beauties
During my repairs of bluebird houses, where the squirrels enlarged the opening, I discovered another rodent in my birdhouses. And apparently this chipmunk didn’t read that they live underground as there was a grass bed inside once I evicted him. And the squatter was also a thief as his cheeks were stuffed full of my bird seed!
Squatter and Thief
The few poor wildflowers which had opened already were closed up tight with drooping heads and probably a bit frozen with temperatures in the teens the last few days. The sunshine this morning is revealing a few new glimpses of blue and hopefully with a warmer stretch, more flowers will start blooming.
Glimpse of Blue
Hopefully this will be the last dusting of snow for the season and the rain tonight won’t have the white flakes but just rain to flow into the river.
On the Banks of Eau Galle River
Yesterday, the critters were enjoying the warmer day and the little red squirrel was chattering my cats on the ground. He would go from branch to branch, but out of range of the leashes the cats were on, teasing them. Although my cats couldn’t reach him, the other little red squirrel could and they chased each other. Today the critters aren’t playing as much with the snowflakes falling around them.
American Red Squirrel
Maybe the trumpets are announcing a day closer to average after some very chilly spring weather. The angel tree carving was found in a local cemetery done by someone with a lot more talent than I have.
Angel Carving
Today was the Indianhead Polled Hereford sale held at the University of Wisconsin – River Falls lab farm and this cutie and its mother was one of the lots sold in the auction. Looks like it is eyeing up the bidders to see who would be taking it home.
Calf at Sale
The weather has been rather fickle this morning as one moment it is dark, then the sun pops out, and the next minute it is snowing. While I didn’t spot any ducks in this pond when I drove by earlier in the week, my pond has been revolving door for ducks with mallards, hooded merganser and wood ducks. This morning the pair of mallards was sharing the pond with two pairs of wood ducks. On the edge of the pond, robins and blackbird were bopping on the grass. But that wasn’t all on the edge of the pond, as a stray black cat was eyeing up a roasted duck dinner, although he gave up after a while since the ducks were teasing him by swimming around pond staying out of reach.
Springtime Pond
Many social media sites users post older photographs on Throwback Thursday as a look back to their past. Although my photo isn’t an old photograph, it is taken of something old and of an era lost. This pump’s dollar amount only has room to display $9.99 at the max, which doesn’t take long to surpass that now when filling up. And at one time, all gas stations were full-service, but that era has mostly disappeared after the first self-service opened in California in 1947, except for the states of New Jersey and Oregon with laws prohibiting self serve at gas stations, although this year Oregon counties with populations less than 40,000 people will be allowed to offer self-serve pumps during the night hours only.
So for most, no attendant will check the oil, wash the windscreen, pump the gas and take your money inside to get your change when the world wasn’t in such a hurry. Now it is a quick in, pay at the pump and leave. And it isn’t the man at the pump talking to you but the little screen on the pump showing you news and other information so you don’t miss out on being connected to some electronic device the few minutes it takes to fill the vehicle.
Pump of the Past
I like falling water but not the water dripping off my house roof from the ends of the icicles. I much prefer a warmer scene and falling water from a waterfall instead. Even the mallards and wood ducks in my pond this morning probably would like a less icy day.
Falling Water
