With another morning of snow to shovel, I think my groundhog was correct that it won’t be an early spring so it may be time to pack the wagon up and head south for the remaining winter.
Load the Wagon
Picture of the Day for January 27, 2013
There might be a lot of critters looking for a barn or somewhere to hide today when the freezing rain arrives today. And if a lot of ice falls, some of these limbs may break under the weight of the ice.
Cozy Barn
Picture of the Day for January 24, 2013
Don’t let the warm colors of the sun fool you, it is still very cold outside!
Fooling Sun
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 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 15, 2013
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
Picture of the Day for January 14, 2013
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
Picture of the Day for January 13, 2013
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
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 10, 2013
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
