While there are no yellow flowers in the winter time, there are other things besides the sun that are yellow and orange which pop out from the white snow, even if they might be old and rusty.
Yellow and Orange
Picture of the Day for March 2, 2013
The sun came out today and while the ground is still white, at least the sun brightens what color there is and it is nice to see blue sky again. But that did mean a nippy night as there was no clouds to hold the heat in but that is the price you have to pay for a clear sky in the winter.
Red Cow Barn
Picture of the Day for March 1, 2013
Boy did my mini-vacation fly by in a blink of an eye! And I didn’t even take a picture those three lost days of February.
There is a hint of sun but it hasn’t been able to break through the clouds yet and if it does, the ground would still be white so I need some purple and green for today’s picture and the field of lupines fit the bill.
Field of Lupines
Picture of the Day for February 28, 2013
I’m trying to imagine blossoms on this tree since there are hints of white as a friend of mine has been telling me of her almond blossoms and how pretty they smell right now but it’s not working because all I smell is cold and I feel the cold too.
It might be a fun tree to climb in the summer but one would get a chilly butt climbing it now.
(I will be taking a mini vacation so I won’t be posting any pictures on February 29, 30 or the 31st.)
Chilly Tree
Picture of the Day for February 27, 2013
I haven’t enjoyed the cloudy days as I rather see some sun but clouds do create some colorful sunsets.
Winter Sunset
Picture of the Day for February 26, 2013
The snow is piling higher with each snowfall but I don’t think any one has to worry about the cows walking over this fence when the snow gets too high – not since the rest of the fence appears to be missing!
Missing Fence
Picture of the Day for February 25, 2013
Maybe Punxsutawney Phil was right about an early spring, even if my groundhog predicted a long winter, since flocks of geese have been seen as well as the return of some swans by a friend of mine.
My pond isn’t big enough for the Trumpeter Swans to land in or raise a family, but there are spots in the state where they do. The Trumpeter Swan was hunted for its feathers throughout the 1600s – 1800s, causing a tremendous decline in its numbers. Its largest flight feathers made what were considered to be the best quality quill pens.
Trumpeter Swans form pair bonds when they are three or four years old. The pair stays together throughout the year, moving together in migratory populations. Trumpeters are assumed to mate for life, but some individuals do ‘divorce’ and switch mates over their lifetimes. Occasionally, if his mates dies, a male Trumpeter Swan may not pair again for the rest of his life.
I’m still think it will be a long winter because there are hundreds of finches attacking my bird feeders right now and that makes it seem like they are stocking up for another snow storm!
Trumpeter Swans
Picture of the Day for February 24, 2013
I bet these Red and Black Angus cattle are happier in the summer than winter, at least I would prefer looking at green grass again.
The naturally polled Angus were developed from cattle native to the counties of Aberdeenshire and Angus in Scotland. Hugh Watson can be considered the founder of the breed as he was instrumental in selecting the best black, polled animals for his herd. His favorite bull was Old Jock, who was born in 1842. Another of Watson’s notable animals was a cow, Old Granny, which was born in 1824 and said to have lived to 35 years of age and to have produced 29 calves.
The pedigrees of the vast majority of Angus cattle alive today can be traced back to these two animals so I wonder how many of these Angus are from Old Jock and Old Granny. I can’t say that having Old Granny on a pedigree makes an exceptional sounding pedigree!
Old Granny’s Kids?
Picture of the Day for February 23, 2013
This Hereford cow looks as thrilled about the new snow as I am, especially since I just came in from shoveling snow again.
Hereford in the Snow
Picture of the Day for February 22, 2013
Scientists in Scotland announced the July 1996 birth of the world’s first successfully cloned mammal, Dolly the sheep, on February 22, 1997. Even though Dolly was not the first animal to be cloned, she gained attention in the media because she was the first to be cloned from an adult cell.
I always figured if they were going to clone a sheep, they could have picked a nicer looking breed of sheep than a Finn Dorset or one of the rare Scottish breeds, like the Boreray as it is the most endangered breed of sheep in the United Kingdom.
Cloning is even less profitable than normal ranching since it took 277 attempts to get Dolly but researchers have tried cloning extinct animals and may open doors for saving endangered and newly extinct species by resurrecting them from frozen tissue.
I just hope that doesn’t mean any Tyrannosaurus rex will show up in my backyard since I have enough trouble with the bears destroying my bird feeders!
Grazing Sheep
