This cat looks like he found a large meal.
Ok, not really, but the cat is curious what the guinea fowl are up to.
Subzero Sunbathing
This morning was frigid, with temps below zero. That is typically unusual in March.
The cat climbed up high to soak in the solar warmth, while the goats were outside, too, hoping to feel the March Sun.
Far From Truth
This outside water faucet appears to be leaking and freezing over.
Though in reality it is an illusion.
Longer Days, Colder Nights
The cold has continued to persist this month.
While I wait for spring, I continue to enjoy the warmth of the sunsets.
Valentine’s Day Heartnut
The Heartnut is a beautiful nut that fits right at home on Valentine’s Day.
The nut is easy to crack and remove from the shell. Too bad most of my trees have dieback from harsh winters.
Suncicles
The Sun has been getting stronger now that we are in February.
Even when the temps are many degrees below freezing, the snow has been melting.
Evergreens Winter Burn
Cryptomeria japonica, or better known as Japanese Cedar, is probably only marginally hardy here. It turns a drab color in winter like the native, unrelated Red Cedars. This young tree looks burnt and I don’t know how this tree and the other couple I still have alive will turn out this Spring.
All my bamboo is turning tan. This is usual every winter for me. Most winters I will have complete topkill, but the past couple winters were unusually warm, so the culms still survived and leafed back out in Spring.
A young Southwestern White Pine in my windbreak is burned pretty good, but should be fine come this spring.
I have a love/hate relationship with Pitlolly Pines. They are the fastest growing pine I can grow, but a lot of the young ones die through the winter. I guess this is a positive for weeding out the less cold hardy ones. It is a cross between the Pitch Pine and Loblolly Pine.
Winter burn is more common on the PitchxLoblolly Pines compared to other pines I am growing.
Bigfoot
Sometimes in the past I would find an unusual leaf and have it dry pressed in a middle of a magazine or catalog. I guess I usually forget about them though and had found this leaf after many years.
This is a Bigfoot Hybrid Willow leaf that looks like three leaves fused together into one. This is what a normal leaf looks like on this fast growing tree:
Winter Sun Dog
The temperature was in the subzero range this morning. It was sunny out, too.
This made perfect conditions for a sun dog to appear. I rarely see them.
Clipping Guinea Wings
I have never clipped wing feathers before, but as described in my previous blog called Dumb Youth, my young white guinea fowl want to roost in the trees. This leaves them vulnerable to predators and at this time of the year, also vulnerable to cold.
Since I have done this, I haven’t had trouble with them going in the shed at night. Seems like this is what I need to do with younger guineas that are flying around too much.