Saturday, December 15, 2012

Sunset

Days are short. Winter is approaching. The sun sets on another year.

And after a short break I'll be back with more Hoosier Safaris on January 2nd. Have a great holiday!

Friday, December 14, 2012

Miniature Rainbows of Light

Some misty winter mornings are magical, a twinkling of thousands of points of lights with each step that is made.

Imagine those crystals that formed over night on this one piece of grass being multiplied a million times over. But get up early; just one hour later you would have missed the show.

Thursday, December 13, 2012

Snow-Fall


...Up spoke our own little Mabel,
Saying, “Father, who makes it snow?”
And I told of the good All-father
Who cares for us here below.

Again I looked at the snow-fall,
And thought of the leaden sky
That arched o’er our first great sorrow,
When that mound was heaped so high.

I remembered the gradual patience
That fell from that cloud like snow,
Flake by flake, healing and hiding
The scar that renewed our woe.

And again to the child I whispered,
“The snow that husheth all,
Darling, the merciful Father
Alone can make it fall!”

Then, with eyes that saw not, I kissed her;
And she, kissing back, could not know
That my kiss was given to her sister,
Folded close under deepening snow.

The First Snow-Fall by James Russell Lowell

Wednesday, December 12, 2012

Baby it's Cold Outside

The birds are up early trying to find enough to eat in the wintry weather. This White Breasted Nuthatch was taking a break, fluffing feathers against the cold.

Nuthatches eat a wide variety of things; seeds and insects. They love to eat at feeders where they enjoy peanut butter if left out.

Tuesday, December 11, 2012

First Snow

We've had a few flakes before last night's snow but this was the first real snow of the season. And only the second snow of the year---an unusual condition in the part of Indiana.

The first snow is always so magical and pretty. It won't be so pretty come March, when we're winter weary.  

Monday, December 10, 2012

Opossum

Counting on being camouflaged this young opossum hung on  and watched as I passed with the dogs underneath.

 I see more opossums in the day light hours of winter than other seasons. But, unlike most animals, they never stay in one spot for very long.  

Saturday, December 8, 2012

Sick Trees

I'm still researching what's happening to this tree that has black spots in the bark all over its trunk.

But the research has put a fright in me---apparently there are just as many things, if not more, that threaten our trees as threaten humans. And we humans help spread the pests and disease at an alarming rate; albeit unwittingly. Firewood for fireplaces and campfires should not be moved except under the utmost caution.

It would be nice to have a national alert system where people could go to see what kind of pests and disease are attacking in their area and what they can do to help.

Friday, December 7, 2012

Out like a Lamb

November went out like a lamb---leaving a lake of glass reflecting trees and sky; hardly even a breeze just air scented with a hint of snow.

Thursday, December 6, 2012

Reflections

Gnarly, naked branches reflected in the Lake. Do you see the tiny fish?

Wednesday, December 5, 2012

November Remnants


Vengeful across the cold November moors,
Loud with ancestral shame there came the bleak
Sad wind that shrieked, and answered with a shriek,
Reverberant through lonely corridors.
The old man heard it; and he heard, perforce,
Words out of lips that were no more to speak
Words of the past that shook the old man’s cheek
Like dead, remembered footsteps on old floors.

And then there were the leaves that plagued him so!
The brown, thin leaves that on the stones outside
Skipped with a freezing whisper. Now and then
They stopped, and stayed there—just to let him know 
How dead they were; but if the old man cried,
They fluttered off like withered souls of men.

The Pity of the Leaves  II
by Edwin Arlington Robinson

Tuesday, December 4, 2012

Forest Way

The sun filtering down through the bare trees of November. The view is spectacular; don't you think?

Monday, December 3, 2012

Winter Beauty

A delicate seed looking more like a flower than its flower had. Such art!

Saturday, December 1, 2012

Love? Not today....

See him over to the left of center? This little guy was interested in two things---eating and the little lady that soon was to join him at the right.

She, however was not interested in this gentleman for reasons unknown. The couple were soon in a tiny paw fight and each swam off in opposite directions chattering at each other.

After a short while, it was only the gentleman, back, quietly eating the weeds at the side of the pond.