It isn’t just my imagination that it seemed rather cloudy this month in my area as the records kept at the U of M St. Paul Campus Climate Observatory documented the least amount of solar radiation for a January since the records began 1963.
Gloomy January
A few snowflakes fell this afternoon and so it was another gray day but a year ago, the last week of January was a very cold one with -55 wind chills and the high stayed below zero. This icy and snowy scene has a frigid look even with the sun out.
Chilly Ice
The clouds remained thick again today making it seem like the gray days of November instead of January but maybe the sun will shine more in February.
Gray Winter Day
The pine trees had a little coating of frost this morning as well as some snowflakes falling during the day as a reminder that winter is sticking around.
Light Frost
With all the snow on the ground, a horse drawn sleigh may be able to cut through the snow instead of a wagon. But this wagon wheel probably won’t help even after the snow has melted since too many of the spokes has disintegrated with age.
Old Spoked Wheel
Today was another cloudy January day but since it wasn’t snowing, adventurers exploring the winter landscape may have visited waterfalls, which many are beginning to ice over creating interesting frozen structures.
Frozen Siskiwit Falls
There may some adventurers who took a winter hike through the woods as the temperature neared the freezing point today, but the snow was melting some which made the paths a bit soft and slippery in spots.
Winter Hike
My crafty squirrel manages to get to the bird feeder no matter what obstacles I try to thwart his efforts and so the birds have to find other sources of food, like the seed heads of the black-eyed Susans. The goldfinch doesn’t look very golden in the winter months.
Not Golden
There was stuff flying in the air today but it wasn’t bees or insects but those snowflakes again. It will several more months before there are any blossoms for the bees to come and collect pollen from.
Collecting Pollen
The snow showers moved in again today, which has me thinking of summer white clouds and white flower blooms, even little white clover blossoms in the lawn.
Summertime White
