Dear winter, you tire me so,
Though lovely and white,
I wish you’d go.
My camera if full of fluffy snow flakes,
How I long to see flowers,
and design my new garden gate.
No worries, the weatherman predicted,
This next little storm is only a clipper,
Just one to three inches of new snow is expected.
Another ten inches and still snowing hard!
That’s it! I’ve had it!
I want my green yard!
L D
It’s so cold the birds have turned into fluffy little cotton balls!
Temps were around -15 today and that didn’t include the windchill!
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| Did you know the American Tree Sparrow only spends the winter in northern Illinois? source |
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| Goldfinch, winter plumage |
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| goldfinches, winter plumage. See the yellow chin and wing bands? |
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| “Somebody bring back Spring!” |
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| American Tree Sparrow as ‘puffed out’ as he can get while keeping both feet warm |
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| Downy Woodpecker, looking extra downy today… |
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| Blue Jay was more interested in the squirrel’s corn across the yard |
One thing I did notice was that the smaller birds on the ground were all hopping around a little strange. Kind of flopping a bit while they moved from one place to another and using their wings as balance in the snow as they hopped, while propping themselves up.
After watching them for a minute, I realized they were hopping around on one foot, holding the other one up in their feathers to keep warm. They would alternate feet every few hops, then sit down when they found the seed they wanted to eat, keeping both feet warm.
Hang on little guys! Only another 2 months and spring will be here again!
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| Junco keeping one foot warm |
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| same for the American Tree Sparrow |
Welcome January, welcome 2014, welcome winter storm Ion….
Didn’t we do this last year?
It’s pretty to look at, out the window, while inside my warm living room with a hot cup of coffee in my hands, but alas, as this little Junco was trying to tell me, the bird feeders weren’t going to refill themselves (I think he was tired of eating the thistle and wanted his sunflower seeds).
Okay, Hubby and I had to dig out the walk and driveway anyway, so I might as well take my camera out before we got started.
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| vaaaarrrrrooommm! |
I took the Labs out with me and Daisy, being the fun loving dog she is, took off like a shot, racing around the yard like a crazy fool.
Annie on the other hand, wanted no part of the cold and snow and wanted back in right away. I don’t blame the old girl.
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| can I come in now? |
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| super dog! |
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| are we going for a walk? |
It was short walk. The road was un-plowed and the snow deep. Not to mention the wind was cold and howling, blowing the snow in our faces. We only made it about a quarter of the way down the road before turning back. Hibernating sounded more fun than freezing in the wind.
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| The snow was a foot deep on South Saddler rd |
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| snow was heavy in the trees but blowing out quickly |
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| Back home |
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| We hurried up and cleaned off the cars and shoveled out the drive then spent the rest of the afternoon in the warm house |
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| after a slice down the drive with the snow blower |
Yep, the snow was pretty, but I’m soooo ready for spring, especially when the forecast calls for -10 for the high tomorrow!
Happy winter everyone and I hope your new year is a good one!
Merry Christmas Everyone from Lil’s Garden!
The Horse factory is now in full swing. I won’t be sleeping again until after Christmas!
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| Come check out the herd LilsGarden.Etsy.com |
It’s hard to believe Hubby’s been a John Deere Mechanic for 30 years.
Lil’s Garden is Having a Pre-Holiday Horse Sale!
Just type in this coupon code at check out at my Etsy site and save 10% on your whole order!
LGPREHOLIDAY10
Hurry! Sale expires 10/31/2013
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| Trick or “Treat” |
The sun setting at the end of the first day of September. There was a tornado warning this evening, so what do we do? Take off in the truck to take pictures. The sirens were going off as I took these.
We saw a bit of the funnel cloud (off to the left of this picture) just as it was dissipating.
Unfortunately I didn’t get a good shot of it. The storm broke up shortly after and as of this post, I haven’t heard of any damage.
You can just see a bit of the wall cloud at the bottom center of this picture and at the top was a swarm of dragonflies.
My neighbor’s cat on our front step. His name is Oliver and he’s a lovable old cat who always wants in. I found out later that the former owners used to let Oliver in all the time.
A collection of faces from the antique bus barn at the Illinois Railway Museum in Union IL.
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| Love the license plate |
Lil's Garden Tour 