Nature Notes and Signs of the Seasons

Visit Michelle at the refreshing Nature Notes Thursday for a new look at the world.

Here in the Midwest, we had a storm this week. We had a lot of snow and cold weather. The weather today is colder today. It is -3 according to the guys on the radio and -6 according to the weather application on my mobile phone. Here are some photos of the snow.

I thought I would leave by the back door, but I had to push snow out of the way and I thought it might make a mess. I let Roscoe inspect things. He was pretty interested and acted like he wanted out, which isn't really a big deal as he won't leave us. But I didn't want to have to step into the huge drift only inches away from the door.

Here is the line of evergreens that line the back of the backyard. In the foreground are the freeze-dried peony bushes. The trees are laden with snow and there are drifts into the bottom of each tree. I hope it is snug within, down there close to the ground.

Here is the ginormous tree on the south side of the property. Without reference, you can't really tell that the bottom branches are almost buried in snow. A lot of critter babies are born under this tree. The road and curb are in this photo.

I caught this angle to show you the way the snow has filled in under the tree. What are the birds doing today? I don't hear a thing. Don't they need a lot of calories every day? What's the scoop? I know someone in our Nature Notes audience knows the answer to this question.

Grace in small things/waging a war against bitterness

1. Evergreen trees covered in snow

2. Friendly neighbors clearing driveways

3. Snow blowers

4. Bird feeders

5. Weak winter sunshine, so pleasant in the afternoon