A thin layer of ice coated the ground before the snow started to fall today. The wind blew the snow hard but at least there didn’t seem to be any ice coating the trees limbs. Some winters, ice can coat limbs and even the individual pine needles causing the limbs to sag or break.
Icy Pine Needles
Those awful, stinky Asian beetles thawed out these last two days outside on my porch and in the house. I sure don’t want them inside and I rather see some other insects outside on flowering plants in the summertime although this red milkweed beetle seems a little lost since it isn’t on a milkweed.
Summertime Bug
Spending time outside was more bearable today with temperatures above freezing but since snow still covers the ground, there are not any wildflowers to be found, or at least not growing ones. Dried flower heads and seed pods are about all that can be spotted during a hike. These remaining dry milkweed pods are leaning a bit from the winter winds but there are a few seeds haven’t gone sailing yet.
January Milkweeds
The deer have been making tracks across my lawn and one place they have been checking out a lot is one apple tree which has about a dozen apples since hanging on the tree. The apples have gone through a very cold deep freeze so I don’t know how tasty they are for the deer when they do fall off the tree.
Frozen on the Tree
During the cold weather spell, I was a chicken and didn’t hike across the field to take a photo of the sunsets so maybe there will be some nice sunsets when the temperatures reaches the upper twenties.
January Cold Sunset
It was supposed to be a little warmer today, but even with the sunshine, it didn’t feel like it. Maybe if the temperature gets close to freezing in a few days, it will make a better day to take a hike through the snow.
Cold Day for a Hike
Yesterday I spotted a bald eagle flying over my house and I was hoping it would land in my trees, but instead it landed in the neighbors tree. But with the very squeaky snow in the cold morning, I didn’t get too close to it for a picture before the eagle flew off. The eagle and other birds might not like me getting close, but the chickadees do since I scare the other birds away from the feeder and they can finally get some bird seeds. But once I leave, the poor chickadees have a hard time getting a spot with the redpolls, nuthatches, purple finch, goldfinch and woodpeckers.
Long Lunch Line
I spotted a lot of tiny tracks on my porch in the new snow and a lot were around the base of a cream can with decorative bird house sitting on top. I peeked in the opening and sure enough, there is a mouse nest inside it. The sign says all birds are welcome, not little rodents!
Unwanted Guests
Some critters have an advantage of having their own wool coats for this frigid spell and it helps with a little sun and facing out of the wind, but it still is cold out.
Wool Coats
The wind was blowing the snow around today and even though the temperature managed to get above zero, the wind made it feel cold. And the long cold spell has been causing things to freeze up besides creating ice formations along the shore of Lake Superior.
Large Icicles
