Spring

We found this little guy in the basement:

 This family was in the driveway:

These beauties decided to stick around a while and are nesting:

and this is a LOT of water, we have had more water this year than we have ever had since we moved here in 2003.

The kids took pictures

Rosebud took a picture of my "forget me nots."

and one of my prickly bushes that have great color and a name that slips my mind at the moment

little man captured the black locust trees

and a magnolia that came from a rare tree my mother bougt me years ago, it's name is "Pinky".

Rosebud got the best picture of Edith.

The little man got a great picture of the Oak tree in the front yard.

and I wish I had a better zoom on my camera so I could do our pelicans justice.

Not a Morning Person

I have never been much of a fan of getting up early, but sometimes I must. This morning was a must and by the time I got back home, this is what was there to great me:


I had to get a little closer.

and closer still. I love sun rises. I wish I woke up every morning to see them.

It is cold and windy

Check out the blowing snow! This was a rough day to be out working.

I also had my first run with my watch and the foot pod. I really must calibrate the foot pod. It was a long run. According to the tread mill I ran 6.31 miles but the watch said I ran 5 miles. I know tread mills can be a little off, but not that much off. It was a good run. I was able to watch Persuasion (a Jane Austen flick) without anyone talking and I had the subtitles on because half the time I could not understand the British accents. I think today I will watch the BBC production of Sense and Sensability (it is the superior version). I have yet to see Emma and I noticed there is a newer version of Persusion I think I would like to see. The Sense and Sensability video that I have has the added bonus of Miss Austen Regrets, a movie about Jane, and a recording of some more background of Miss Austen.

Christmas was good to me

I have been saving for a Polar 800CX and I found one for a great price from an authorized Polar seller on Amazon. I wore it for barn chores yesterday and it gave me a graph of what my heart did during the chores. It also listed how long my heart rate was in various training zones and how many calories I burned. 53% of the time was spend at 70-79% of my max heart rate and I burned 204 calories. I could see on the graph how long it took my heart to react when I did something strenuous, like haul 80lbs of corn on a sled.

So many neat gadgets out there. I will have my first run with the watch today.

It is so cold here that many vehicles are having difficulties, ours included. This morning it was 20 below. I do not think it has gotten over 0 in 4 days.

Winter view of the garden

Birds

Every winter, after the first snowfall I put out seed for the birds. This year I have black sunflower seeds, peanuts, and safflower seed. I am always rewarded with many constant visits. These pictures will all taken in 10 minutes about 30 minutes after putting out new seed.

It is important to continue feeding the birds until spring if you begin.

Snowed In

This makes for a much better workout when doing chores!

I spilled the corn

We heat our home with corn and I often spill the corn. The birds really like it.

I tried to catch the 2 wood peckers, but they were too quick. I did, however, get this cute little guy.

Flower Identification Needed

I found this flower while going to feed the animals and I do not know what it is. It has an orchid-like quality to it.
Here is the leaf:
front:

Side:

Thanks to Ravelry and the DNR, the answer is: Impatiens pallida, pale touch-me-not or jewelweed. This is the yellow version, the orange one is Impantiens capensis.

The Birds

I looked out the window and saw what looked like thousands of birds surrounding the house. This is one side of them. The noise was amazing, something you would expect to hear in the jungle.

Prelude to winter

It is finally starting to melt.

The kids are having a blast in it.

The Garden / Weed Patch

The hard way to make hay (this is Dear):


Me using the brush hog (much easier):

Gotta spread all that manure (Chicken, pig, sheep, and llama)

The birdies are having fun finding crickets

Pretty pest

Pretty pest on a milkweed, I am pretty confident it is a Monarch. You can find more pictures of Monarchs and other butterflies and caterpillars here.

With / Without Sheep

Without

With (notice the nice paths they make)

Trees Fall Down

This year we have lost a few tress and some branches.

(above photo) This is a cross cut of a branch, we counted 117 rings.

(above photo) This is a medium Oak we have here. We have some big and old oaks.

Here is a small tree, I am not sure what kind of tree it is.