The winter skies can produce sundogs when ice crystals are present in the air in very cold weather and there is a chance that some might be visible in the next few days but sometimes the sun can reflect on the winter clouds to give off different colors like green and in this case a pink color.
It seems rather eerie when the sun is masked by the clouds and makes it appear more like the moon than the sun.
Eerie Sun
Winter skies have a slightly different look than summer skies, from the crisper air to the snow reflecting a bit of color hue. And the starkness of the tree seems to standout more against the winter colorful sky.
Winter Starkness
After seeing my pond froze over for a month, it is nice to see flowing water in the winter time. But then you can’t go ice skating on a creek that never freezes over.
I wonder how many daring kids tried crossing the creek across the log.
Wintertime Creek
To close out critter week, I figured we needed a picture of one more farm animal and since lambing season has started for some farmers, these playful lambs are a good subject. Lambs sure love to play king on the hill and race around chasing each other.
These lambs are a breed called Targhee, a relatively new breed that is less than a hundred years old as U.S. Sheep Experiment Station in Dubois, Idaho, began in the fall of 1926 to lay the foundation for the Targhee sheep breed consisting of a cross of Rambouillet, Lincoln, and Corriedale breeds.
The new breed was named Targhee after the Targhee National Forest where the animals grazed during the summer. The forest was named for a chief of the Bannock Indians who had lived in the area in the 1860’s.
Playful Lambs
Not wanting to miss anything, this pig decided to stand on the fence rails to get a better look at want was happening around him.
Curious Pig
Baby critters are always cute and when they are small to start with, that makes them even more precious.
The earliest history of miniature horses was in the 1650 AD records of the Palace at Versailles where King Louis XIV kept a vast Zoo, replete with unusual animals, including tiny horses.
Miniature horses were used in England & Northern Europe as far back as the 1700’s to pull ore carts in the coal mines. They were also bred by European royalty as pets for the royal children. In the 19th century, some miniatures were brought to the United States to be used in the mines in Ohio and West Virginia. Many early breeders imported horses from Europe, especially England and Holland, which helped to create the miniature breed, as it is known today. Some miniatures trace back to the Falabella Ranches in Buenos Aries, Argentina, South America, which was founded in the mid 1840’s.
Following in Mom’s Steps
It appears this Hereford bull isn’t real thrilled about walking through the snow but I wouldn’t to be at the bottom of a hill if he was tobogganing.
Herefords derived their name from Herefordshire, or the county of Hereford, in the west of England. Benjamin Tomkins is given credit for developing the breed. A primary founder of the breed, Tomkins began in 1742 with a bull calf from the cow Silver and two cows, Pidgeon and Mottle. Herefords in the 1700’s and early 1800’s were much larger than they are today.
Henry Clay, Kentucky statesman, brought Herefords, one cow, one heifer and one bull, to the United States in 1817. Then, in 1840, William Sotham and Erastus Corning, of Albany New York, established the first recorded breeding herd in America with the purchase and importation of 22 head of Herefords from Herefordshire. Among other renowned early Hereford breeders were Charles Gudgell and Thomas A. Simpson of Missouri. Their big break came with the importation of Anxiety 4, a bull credited as being the “father of American Herefords.”
Now more than five million pedigree Hereford cattle exist in over 50 countries.
Bull in the Snow
With a squirrel and cat for the last two pictures, I might as well have a critter week and so instead of another cat picture, it is time for some puppies. These puppies are hard at work or at least having fun playing tug-of-war with the stuffed toy pheasant. Although it was better the pheasant received the tugging since it was not so easy taking pictures when they found my camera strap!
Tug-of-War
In the warm sun filled window, this cat has found the perfect place to observe winter and to watch the squirrels playing in the yard.
Welcome Cat
The sun is out today and supposedly it will get to the freezing mark today so I wonder if the red squirrel will crawl out of his tree hole and play in the snow. I have been seeing the grey and black squirrels all winter but not the little red squirrel. I guess he is not a fan of winter.
Peeking Out
