Mother Nature played an April Fools Day joke this morning as the April showers to bring May flowers was a snow shower instead of rain and the colder temperatures will freeze any flowers trying to emerge. At least sun has come out and is melting the coating of snow but it wasn’t nice to watch the falling snow to start the day.
Nature’s April Fools Day Joke
The majority of very cloudy days have made it hard to get colorful sunset this winter and if there are nice sunsets, I am too chicken to brave the cold.
Pine Tree Sunset
While hiking in a stream bed, filled with sand to large boulders, to a waterfall, I spotted a pine tree growing from the fallen boulder. It always amazes me how moss, lichens, ferns and trees can establish a hold on rocks.
Tenacious Tree
After a snowfall, you notice evidence by way of tracks, just how many critters are visiting your yard. The ‘freeways’ in the snow can be found leading to the bird feeder from the trees as the squirrels attempt to steal seeds. While most of the squirrel tracks go from one tree base to another, the rabbit tracks head towards the thicker underbrush. Varying sizes of bird tracks can be found in the snow under the feeder as they look for fallen seeds. The tiny mouse tracks where running around the outside garage walls, looking for a way inside to stay warm or to get away from the fox who wanders through the yard too. This morning, fresh deer tracks led right up to the house to graze on my shrubs next to the porch. So the “pretty” snow doesn’t stay new looking very long before it turns into a maze of animals trails.
Trails in the Snow
The old father time image often comes to mind when the year comes to a close. This pine pine might not be the father time image, but it sure has turned white like father time’s hair. The pine tree looks like a space creature from the original Star Trek series and looks worn out and old with the white frost covering it.
Tree Space Monster
The pine tree monster looks like it wants to devour the moon, even dripping sap saliva as it waits for its meal.
Monster Eating Moon
Walking on the trails to the waterfalls, one can find wildflowers but sometimes you have to look up for birds or other interesting things, like an old dead tree limb which resembles the backside of a bunny standing up with ears flat out plus a round tail.
Interesting Tree Limb
When I was in grade school, it was our job to cut the Christmas from our planting of pine trees for a windbreak the first day school let out fro Christmas break. But since it was a windbreak, we could only take a tree where the trees were too thick so that meant a ‘Charlie Brown’ type of tree, which was usually flat on one side. The Charlie Brown tree did work well in a small room since the flat side could be pushed tight to the wall. One problem with the tree was that it would always grow after we cut it by the time we got to the house door!
This leaning tree might have fit into the Charlie Brown category since the deer rubbed off several rows of branches, although the gap is covered with the heavy snow laden branches, but since the tree was on the end of the row, it would have been safe from being a Christmas tree.
No clear, sunny sky for this Christmas Eve Day but then I suppose that means it won’t be real cold tonight for Santa’s reindeer but if Santa can bring the sun for our present, I think a lot of people would be happy.
Christmas Eve Tree
A light blanket of snow covered the ground this morning and when it finally started to melt, I got brave and went outside. Normally the first wet snow of the year, I end up on my butt walking down the hill to feed the cats when the feet start sliding on the wet snow that packs to ice.
At least the roads were just wet and not snow covered so people could go out and vote, but there was something missing on the ballot. There should have been a line about extending a warm fall so I could vote no to snow.
Vote No to Snow!
