The morning sunshine revealed the previous day snowfall and while it might be pretty to look at, it wasn’t so ‘pretty’ when it came to shoveling it.
More Snow (Again)
Picture of the Day for January 14, 2014
The trees probably are as tired of winter as I am, with the heavy snow weighting down their branches most of the winter. They had a couple of days where they could lift their branches up again but it sure didn’t last long and they groaning under the snow again. So the snow monsters have returned again.
Snow Monster
Picture of the Day for January 13, 2014
Barbwire is thorny enough, especially when working with it, but with the frost it seems extra spiky.
Bristly Barbwire
Picture of the Day for January 12, 2014
Due to the vibrant colors, which most male birds have compared to the females, the female often doesn’t get displayed in pictures even though she often does the majority of the work. In the case of the cardinal, the female does the nest building although the male sometimes brings nest material to the female.
The female cardinal has a rare trait of singing as few North American songbirds females do. Her song often a longer and more complex than the male and join their mates in a practice known as antiphonal singing.
Female Cardinal
Picture of the Day for January 11, 2014
The landscape was still covered with heavy frost today leaving very little color besides white and at times when the wind blew stronger, it looked like it was snowing.
Frost Covered Landscape
Picture of the Day for January 10, 2014
The slightly warmer day (still below freezing) but above zero, was very foggy and with mist in the air, the trees and many objects were coated in frost. It always amazes me how the frost can build ten times or more in thickness than the object or limb it is forming on. It looks like rigid ice but if you bump the branch, the frost quickly falls off and the photo opportunity disappears until the next frosty winter day.
Frosted Branch
Picture of the Day for January 9, 2014
Although I had filled the bird feeders frequently during the arctic blast, I saw little bird activity during the below zero days. Today, with the temperature finally above zero, even though below freezing yet, the bids were more active and coming to the feeders and some birds add some nice color contrast to the winter landscape like the cardinal.
Male Cardinal
Picture of the Day for January 8, 2014
The predawn landscape may be very muted in color, but the pink glow of a foggy morning seems more colorful than a chilly winter day, or at least seems warmer!
Morning Fog Rising Off Lake
Picture of the Day for January 7, 2014
The deer left tracks all over my driveway so I’m not sure if they wanted in the garage to stay warm over night or they wanted a handout but they would have had better luck getting something to eat from the corn shocks in the field.
Snow Covered Corn Shocks
Picture of the Day for January 6, 2014
With wind chills near -60ºF this morning and near -50ºF tonight, these horses might want to hide in the barn because I am definitely hiding indoors as much as I can today.
Out in the Frigid Winter
