Winter Wonderland

Yesterday afternoon (about 2:00) the rain started.  And it rained.  Fat rain.  Heavy rain.  Rain that went SPLAT and left everything very wet.

Within an hour it had turned to sleet and ice pellets.

An hour later, it was big, fat, heavy snowflakes - they, too, would've gone SPLAT if they could've.

When I got home about 5:00, it was a winter wonderland.  I let the dog out to find icicles everywhere.

The birds were feeding like mad...right up until about 6:00 PM.  If it was still light enough to see, they were going to eat.  They knew they were in for a rough night.

This morning I was hesitant to get up.  The radio said all the area schools closed.  Winter weather warnings were still being broadcast.  But when I looked out across the yard, I could still see the tops of the grass clumps, so we couldn't have gotten too much snow.

Feeders were now white instead of strictly icy - and the air was mild.

But everything was covered with heavy, wet snow.  Lovely, but rough on branches.

Bless my neighbor for plowing me out.  Look at those clumps of snow - Very heavy, Very wet.  I was Very glad I didn't have to shovel it.  I see some gratitude baking in my near future.

Plowing here is much different than it was in Newcomb.  I take my hat off to the guys in Newcomb who really did keep the roads and streets snow- and ice-free.  Admittedly, they didn't have but the smallest fraction of roads to plow that we have here, but they did a bang up job...even removing piles from the ends of driveways! 

As you can see, the main drag (paved road) was plowed, but the side road (dirt) to the left was not.

I'm glad I live on the corner and my driveway connects to the paved road.  As you can see, it was rough going along this road.  And there is a limb down from the one pine tree on my property.

While I took the time to do my civic duty and drag the limb off the road, Toby decided to continue his walk all by himself!  Thank goodness there was no traffic (or deer).

The young pines down the road just looked exhausted after a night of rough weather.

The heavy rains of the day before left significant (now frozen) puddles in the fields.  We are lucky roads weren't flooded.

I couldn't pass up the opportunity to make a snowman this morning...even if all I had time for was a very small one.  Perfect snowman snow doesn't come around every day.

I was on the road to work about 15 minutes later, and the snow was already warming up and dropping from trees and utility lines.  What a crazy winter this has been.

Owl Be Seeing You

I was sitting at the computer working on some permits when my phone beeped.  It was one of our naturalists calling from the trails.  A barred owl was right there by the trail!  Did I want to come and photograph it?

Well...who wouldn't!

So I abandoned the computer, grabbed my camera, and went out.  Across the bridge, by the catalpas, over near the hay field. I looked and looked, but nothing.

Then, suddenly, silent movement through the trees.  I could see its pale form winging through the woods away from me.  I followed, cutting into the hay field, watching it land, then take off and land again.  I finally was able to get close enough to grab a shot.

Winter can be a stressful time for owls.  Finding food is a daily struggle for any wild animal, but winter compounds the difficulties, with snow providing cover for potential prey.  Add to that the fact that January and February make up the breeding season for our largest owls.  Stress upon stress.  So, my attempt to sneak up on the bird probably just added to its stress levels, and once more it took off.

I tracked it through the woods, but finally it had enough of my clumsy efforts and flew into the tangle of trees, effectively vanishing for good.

So, since I was already out there, and this time I had brought my macro lens along, I took my time going back to the building, photographing the berries still covered with ice.

Buckthorn

Honeysuckle

More buckthorn, in bubbly ice

I didn't take time to ID this one, but it is likely another honeysuckle.

Maple keys

 

Frosty, frozen droplet

And, finally, who can resist the sound of a babbling brook?  Not me, nor some of my other blogging friends, who also recently posted similar videos!  Great minds think alike.

Ice on Flowers

Our walk this morning went from forest to field - we wanted to see what the ice had done with the prairie plants.  It was so beautiful.  There were marbles:

 glass fingers:

 
and even paperweights:

Rows of frozen droplets on branches:

and globes that reflected the world around them:

I think tomorrow, if the sun is out again, I may have to return with my macro lens and tripod.

And the Sun Rises

 The thing about blizzards and terrible weather is that when the sun finally comes back out, the world is so very beautiful.

The deer went out on the frozen stream and dug a small hole 

to get to the water...we don't know why, for the stream was running

free just a short distance away.

The ice was catching the sun and flashing back brilliant crystals of color.

The camera wouldn't catch them...unless I took it out of focus: 

What a great day to be a naturalist!

I glanced up and saw a yellow ball in the tree.  Do you see it?

It's an oak apple, one of the many many types of galls that form on 

oak trees.  I will do a post about these soon...you will see

how fascinating they are. 

Buds on the prickly ash - a brilliant rusty orange.

 

Now there's a Christmas Tree with real Icicles!

More to come in the next post:  Ice on Flowers.