In front of a fireplace, looking out at the window, is the perfect place see the winter wonderland. Except I don’t have a fireplace and it was -19 this morning.
Another Chilly Morning
Picture of the Day for January 21, 2013
Waking up to a wee bit nippy morning with air temps at -17 degrees Fahrenheit and a wind chill of -45, I think my face frosted up like these trees when I went out to fill the bird feeders. But is it a sunny day – a very deceiving sunny day!
Frosty Chilly Morning
Picture of the Day for January 20, 2013
A very nippy cold front moved in last night and the sun can deceive a person making it look warmer outside than it is. And since it isn’t warm out, I don’t think will be hiking across any fields for a few days for pictures plus I think ‘cold’ will be this week’s theme.
Nippy Farm Scene
Picture of the Day for January 19, 2013
I had a picture request from someone ‘Down Under’ for star constellation pictures from the Northern Hemisphere so I ventured out into the darkness last two nights. During the winter night trips to the lambing barn, Orion was the constellation which stood out on the chilly nights. But since Orion is visible in the Southern Hemisphere, just sort of upside down, I figured the North Star and the Big and Little Dippers would be a more appropriate picture for the request.
The North Star has historically been used for navigation both to find the direction of north and to determine latitude and early pioneers would point the wagon tongue to the North Star at night to determine direction when morning came and then they could set landmarks for the day’s travel.
The North Star
Picture of the Day for January 18, 2013
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
Picture of the Day for January 17, 2013
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
Picture of the Day for January 16, 2013
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
Picture of the Day for January 12, 2013
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
Picture of the Day for January 4, 2013
The sun is shining today and the bright, white snow sure makes the red barns stand out more. I had shingled the roof of milkhouse which is on the other side of the big barn twenty five years ago (when I was much younger!) but at least it wasn’t the big barn roof as that has a farther drop to the ground.
Red, White and Blue
Picture of the Day for January 3, 2013
As I continue the ‘red barn’ week, today picture is a lot of red barns and while not a rustic as an old red barn would be, it is a fitting picture for today as these red barns are on my parents farm and today is my dad’s birthday. When they purchased the farm (before I was born), all the barns and buildings were white but after a couple of tornadoes removed a couple of the barns, they were replaced with red ones. When it was only one red and the old white barn, it was easier to know where to go but now it is the middle barn or the back barn which works fine until my brother decides he needs another barn for his machinery. So would the middle barn become the ‘old’ middle barn and would the new one become the ‘way back’ barn? Maybe they should have different names but my brother is not quick in naming things and that is why one of his bulls were named Gertrude since my sister named it since my brother didn’t hurry up fast enough!
Lots of Red
