snow business

 Here we go!

At last, snow!  We only got 5 inches, not the projected 15...but it's still delightful.

Gorgeous drifts!

High winds and snow made for an especially blustery storm.

Birds blown sideways!

But it all settled nicely and made the perfect platform for...snow tracks!  

This little guy...

...made it easy to identify these tracks.

Another great find...a hawk dive!  

Field mouse or chipmunk here, checking out an apple that we threw out for the deer.

Looks like a cat was creeping around...

...but what made these tracks?

This might be a fox pair.  Their tracks are almost single-file.  Good thing Borga's on the case.  In her old age, she's Walter Mitty-ed herself into a great tracker!

She's an intrepid trail-breaker...at least for a few minutes!

Then she's ready for a cozy spot by the fire.  Calliope is pulling her weight by keeping a close eye on the birds.

We celebrated our first snow day with a classic from my childhood...snow ice cream!  One pan of snow, mixed with sugar, milk, and vanilla.  Yum!

Since the local groundhog predicts six more weeks of winter...

...I envision many more cozy days ahead.  Hooray for snow!

Caterpillar Blood and Lack of Flood

We survived the storm!  Actually, we only had a few small branches down, and a fairly comfortable amount of rain.

We had a beautiful sunset after the storm, too.

Now the storm has passed and with it, the chilly 50 - 60 degree weather.  We're back in the 70s, but I think the brief chill shocked some leaves into starting to turn.  Look how pretty!

As you can see, though, most of the leaves are still cheerfully green.

Our nandina berries are slowly reddening.

One of our front holly bushes has pretty green berries now.  They make great seasonal bouquets.

You can see the range of colors in these acorns, all the way from very pale to darker green, gradually turning to rich chocolate brown.

Just out on our back deck looking for acorns, I found all sorts of little creatures among the leaves.  This teeny tiny daring jumping spider - my favorite! - was only the width of a pencil eraser! 

They are so sassy, and it's really amazing to see the variety of coloration of their abdomens.  Real beauties.

This caterpillar, regretfully, had a fatal injury.  I'm not sure what kind he might be.  I went back and forth between a winter moth and alfalfa caterpillar, but neither are quite right.  Whoever he is, he's a goner. 

Caterpillars don't have blood, of course.  They have a fluid called hemolymph.  This is actually what butterflies push through their wing veins directly after emerging from the cocoon to enlarge and strengthen them.  The same goes for cicadas.  Remember this cicada picture from a few years ago?  When they emerge from the cocoon, their wings are tightly furled.  

The hemolymph is necessary to get the wings ready for flight.  Pretty interesting!

I've done a lot of stitch work this week, but it's all Christmas gifts and therefore off-limits here for a few months.  In the kitchen, I've found an amazing crust-free pumpkin pie recipe at Chocolate Covered Katie.  Not much flour or sugar, but it tastes amazing.  I have a slice every single day.  

Later this week, I'm making a variety of pumpkin truffles.  I'd hoped to send them out to friends and family to celebrate the season, but unfortunately, they need to be refrigerated.  All the more for us!  :)

Have a great week! 

Thar She Blows!

I had planned to do a strictly craft-centric post today, because I've done several projects and have fallen far behind on posting pictures.  The same with some recent baking experiments.  But we had such an interesting weather event this weekend that I couldn't resist a few pictures.

The forecast for Friday afternoon was cloudy skies with a 20% chance of precipitation.  Suddenly, the sky got dark, the wind picked up, and hail started pattering down.  We had a torrential downpour and heavy winds for about 15 minutes, and then the storm passed.  We had just experienced a microburst, or a weather system in which a small column of air sinks and pushes out, instead of in a circular rotation like a tornado.  I couldn't believe how much damage was done in just a few minutes.  Another large tree in the back yard fell over, taking a smaller tree with it.

Huge branches down, and lots of little ones.

A gigantic limb on our front poplar tree snapped and is hanging precariously from another branch.  Sadly, the tree, already damaged, is basically in shock and unable to be saved.  The whole thing is going to have to come down next week.

Birds' nests torn out of branches and eggs scattered everywhere.

 

Twenty-four hours without power, so lots of Scrabble by candlelight for us.

Despite the intense heat (almost two weeks of upper 90s), we've had some flowers blooming.  The mimosa trees that hang over the pond are gorgeous.

Spiderwort lines a shady path...

These Rose-of-Sharon-like flowers are blooming on a side yard shrub.  I prefer them after they've wilted for their beautiful blue color.

Our owls are staying busy and making regular appearances.

A heron pair is nesting nearby.

The squirrels frisk in the morning and disappear in the heat of the afternoon.

The cats have stopped begging to go outside in this heat...

...and are focused on indoor entertainment. 

And those trees in the pond?  We aren't worried about them.  Our beaver family is making short work of that job!

I will try to get that craft post up next week.  Have a good weekend!