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
With the look of autumn, the tree buds of spring add some red and yellow color on the hillside before leafing out to the summertime green.
Springtime Tree Bud Colors
The last Friday in April in National Arbor Day (from the Latin arbor, meaning tree), a holiday in which individuals and groups are encouraged to plant and care for trees, although some states observe it on different dates to coincide with the local area’s best planting times. For instance, Hawaii celebrates it on the first Friday of November, and Alaskans celebrate it on the third Monday in May.
The first American Arbor Day was originated in Nebraska City, Nebraska by J. Sterling Morton who had moved from Michigan to 160 treeless acres in Nebraska felt the state’s landscape and economy would benefit from the wide-scale planting of trees. On April 10, 1872, an estimated one million trees were planted in Nebraska.
This poor old willow tree has seen better days and lost many big limbs last year, reducing the shade which the beef cattle love in the summertime, so planting some trees in this area probably be appreciated by the critters.
Old Willow Tree
The cardinal was singing this morning so I guess he didn’t mind the return to winter but I didn’t hear or see the bluebirds or robins since I think they are wondering were spring went to. But now the robin has had snow on its tail twice so hopefully it will only snow once more and spring can stay.
Doesn’t Look Like Spring to Me
The kitten called Trouble just might get in trouble if it keeps climbing up higher in the tree as one of its siblings had a not so graceful exit from the same tree the other day.
Trouble in Trouble
“On the First day of Christmas my true love sent to me a Partridge in a Pear Tree.”
Well the song lyrics just don’t work for me since I don’t have a true love, the coyote ate the partridge and it has to be a very hardy pear tree to survive in my area and it would be a bare tree this time of year.
Bare Tree
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
Rain yesterday, snow today. I guess Old Man Winter has returned but I still prefer the softly flowing waterfalls to the big falling snowflakes.
Streaking Snowflakes
I think it will be an early winter as the leaves on my trees started turning the end of August this year. The colored leaves are pretty and I enjoy autumn but I sure hope the trees are wrong and that winter will be late coming and a short one.
Autumn Too Soon
For the last several days, the cattle haven’t needed a shade tree but an umbrella instead with all the rain and maybe soon they will need an ark too.
Under the Shade Tree
