During the snowfall this morning, two squirrels were playing in the snow like two little kids as they chased each other across the lawn making the snow fly even more. At times the chase game found them winding up and down trees before they found their way back to the bird feeder or hiding in the tree.
Squirrel Up a Tree
The snow was sparkling this morning with the sunlight reflecting off the snow crystals. But sunshine in winter generally means cold temperatures and it was this morning starting out at two degrees, although it wasn’t as cold as it was when I had hiked out to the ice caves several years ago to see sunlight sparkling off thicker ice pieces.
Sunlight Reflecting on Ice
The snow was falling this morning and then later it was flying when the wind was gusting to 36 mph as the temperature began to fall. Watching white clouds racing across the sky on a sunny summer day would be more enjoyable.
Summertime Cloud Watching
Sunday morning arrived with another snow dusting and sounds like more snow tomorrow morning too. So far it has just been the nuisance kind and not a lot at one time so no deep snow drifts yet to wade through to church.
Church in Winter Snow
As I was shoveling the snow off the cement this chilly morning, I was thinking that I would have rather been raking leaves on a warmer day instead.
Autumn Orange
Four days in a row with snow on the ground seems like it is four days too many as I’m not ready for winter yet since the calendar says winter doesn’t start until the 21st. I rather see some green and color from flowers, even ones that look like they have my bed-hair look. The purple pink blossoms of Wild Bergamot looks like a firework exploding and is found during the summer months.
Exploding Blossom
In muddy conditions critter tracks can be spotted easier than on hard ground, but tracks really stand out in a fresh coating of snow. Just in the short distance I walked to the bird feeders and to feed the cats, I saw numerous bird tracks, as well as mouse, squirrels, rabbit and even evidence that a stray cat visited too. And of course I left my tracks too in the snow.
Tracks in the Snow
The day didn’t warm up above freezing or even above 20 so the ground is still covered with that cold white stuff and even more snowflakes were flying through the air too.
Still Hanging Low
A change definitely arrived overnight, from 57 yesterday afternoon to -3 wind chill this morning plus a icy white coating covering the landscape. Although not a lot of snow, the switch from rain to snow also brought a time of ice too, so a lot of branches were coated and hanging lower to the ground.
Hanging Even Lower
This poor pine tree looks a little beaten down and hanging his head on this gray day, even though it was way above the 29 normal average temperature. It reached 57 for a short time this afternoon, which is the normal high here for October 15. But the tree probably knows the change is coming with temperatures dropping tomorrow to 12 plus strong winds to make a big change in the weather.
Hanging Low
