Angels in the Snow

We used to play in winter's snow
By making angel wings you know.
We'd lie so still with arms up high,
In snow that was so smooth and dry.

Then through the snow, all white and deep,
Our arms so carefully we sweep
Until our hands o'erhead we bring,
Each arm has made an angel's wing.

Then up we rise with greatest care,
Not to disturb the images there,
And gaze with wonder at the row
Of angels in the snow.
(Irma Sanborn)



They say you're as young as you feel and yesterday I felt like a kid that needed to make a snow angel in all that fresh snow. Of course, being young in spirit is different than being young in body...my angel was much wider and deeper than I remembered from days gone by and getting up from that position without disturbing the angel was alot harder than I remembered too :-) I couldn't get the the dogs to play "fox and goose" but they sure did enjoy running through the deep snow. In fact, to quote Jeff, I would say they are "the fastest runners in the sixth grade".

Snow Storm

All day the old earth waited;
The clouds hung gray and low;
Then in the brief and sudden dusk
It began to snow -

Flake by soft, white, feathery flake,
Until the rusty, brown
Hedgerows and the apple trees
Were swathed in eiderdown.

And all the bare fields round about,
And every rounded hill -
It snowed that night, it snowed the next day,
It snowed until the countryside,
As far as the eye could see,
Were no familiar landmarks, where
A fence or bush should be.
(Ethel Fuller)

Our winter of no snow is no more! We finally got a good old fashioned snowstorm complete with sleet, snow, blowing and drifting. It left in its wake, beautiful snow covered trees, slippery roads and driveways & yards to be cleared. Jeff fired up the payloader to start the snow removal and Gabi, Ruger & I took a walk to enjoy the crisp air and enjoy the beauty. This from a woman that normally hates snow but after not having any for so long it really is a pretty site.

My take on "Where's Waldo?" In this scene of black & white - where's Ruger?

Precious Memories...

"Good mornin' little girl,"

and she smiles her precious smile...

"I have come to see you

and love you for a while."

Tiny little fingers

clutch my fingers too...

as we play and rock and cuddle,

my day is full of precious YOU!

(adapted from a C Ellefson poem)

Bookwork, cleaning and laundry can wait because little Alexis is visiting again today. We spent the morning playing the usual "babies" with numerous diaper and wardrobe changes but today we also played "office" like mommy does. There were stickers to place, important things to write and calculations to make. What a busy morning it was....

After all that work and play it was time to relax and watch a little Curious George. Alexis showed me that you don't need a recliner to veg out in front of the tv :-)

Mr. Owl

Said Mr. Owl, sitting in a tree,
"How would you like
To be like me?
I sleep all day
In the bright sunlight,
And look for my dinner
In the middle of the night!"

What fun it was to discover an owl roosting in an old wood duck house today. Looking at my trusty bird book (Thanks, Scott!), I think he might be an eastern screech owl. He was so cute he actually got me outside a second time today for photographs and it is only 6 degrees at noon. Hopefully, he sticks around the garden and we get to see him more in the days to come.

Nature's Valentine...

Frost flowers on the window glass,
Hopping chickadees that pass,
Bare old elms that bend and sway,
Pussy willows soft and gray.
Silver clouds across the sky,
Lacy snow flakes flitting by,
Icicles like fringe in line
That is outdoor's Valentine.

(author unknown)

Happy Valentine's Day! I found some frost flowers, chickadees, silver clouds and icicles out in the garden just for you. Heck, I even found a woodpecker kissing a tree and some hydrangeas that have held up from last fall. I hope you have a wonderful holiday.

Sadly, the frigid temperatures and long cold spell we had last week took it's toll. We found my beautiful red bellied woodpecker dead on Sunday.

Frozen...

Frozen fingers,
Frozen toes,
HELP...
I can't feel my nose!


-18F, -11F, -15F -17F
Yes, those are the actual temperatures the last 4 mornings, factor in the wind chill and it is unbelievably cold outside!

I don't know if this little junco was trying to keep his head warm or what?




The feeders are extremely busy places these days as the birds eat more to stay warm. I added some seed to various spots on the ground which led to some competetive bluejay encounters over their favorite spot to feed.
Think Warm! Back in July when the temperature was 90 some degrees we came across these cows trying to stay cool in the creek.

You scratch my...

You scratch my back, I'll scratch yours...
"A favor should be reciprocated: you do a favor for me, and I'll do one for you. The proverb has been traced back to Montaigne (1605), and is first attested in the United States in 'Artemus Ward, His Book' (1865) by Artemus Ward, the pen name of Charles Farrar Browne (1834-76)." From "Random House Dictionary of Popular Proverbs and Sayings" (1996) by Gregory Y. Titelman (Random House, New York, 1996).

Okay, I couldn't help it - it almost did look like the nuthatch was scratching the downy's back :-)
This little downy woodpecker and red bellied woodpecker were nice enough to sit and pose for me at the feeder.
I used these shots as models for the upside down suet feeder I just painted.

Groundhogs & Moon dogs...

Old Groundhog stretched in his leafy bed.
He turned over slowly and then he said,
"I wonder if spring is on the way,
I'll go and check the weather today.
If I see my shadow between eleven and noon,
I then will know that I'm out too soon.
I'll crawl back in bed for six weeks more,
Pull up the warm covers and snore and snore.
But if no shadow gives me a scare,
I know that spring is in the air,
I'll wake my friends and wish them cheer,
With glorious news that spring is here."
(unknown author)

I don't have any groundhog photos for you but if one was around he definitely wouldn't have even came out of the ground today! We have windchill advisories for -20 to -30 degrees. These shadows of summer are much "warmer" to think about.


With this cold weather we have seen "sun dogs" around the sun several times this week but last night was my first time I ever saw "moon dogs". What is a moon dog? Wikipedia defines it as "A paraselene, or moon dog, is a halo caused by the refraction of moonlight by hexagonal plate shaped ice crystals in high-atmosphere cirrus clouds. Moon dogs appear to the right and left of the moon approximately 22° away. They are exactly analogous to a sun dog. Moon dogs are somewhat rarer than sun dogs, because in order to produce moon dogs or other types of halos, the moon must be bright and therefore full or near full."