Tis The Season For Snow

We've been snow covered much of the time for many weeks now, though it is all melted this morning.. These Canada and Snow Geese were in a corn field just north of my house. The dark colored birds are Canada Geese, the white ones are adult Snow Geese and the gray ones are immature Snow Geese. There is also a blue color phase in Snow Geese, but they have white heads, which is why I identified these gray birds as immature Snow Geese:

 When snow is covering everything, the farm is as pretty as a Christmas card:

 English Sparrows mobbed my porch one morning, leaving tiny footprints everywhere. Alas, they also left lots of tiny poops, which appeared when the snow melted. Both Daphne and Clover think they are dog treats:

 More troublesome are the fox footprints I continue to find using my tire tracks in the driveway as a highway to the barn. I will continue to keep the chickens locked indoors:

 Big Blue Jays also use my tire tracks while they raid the sunflower seed feeder:

 Inside the barn, the white fantail pigeons seem content and healthy:

 The nest on the floor is doing well with its two babies:

 The nest up on a shelf was doing well:

 Until I found one baby dead. Now there is only one, but it is growing at an astounding rate:

 One warm day melted our snow, but the very next morning it began again:

 I walked out into the field to give grain to Jasmine, and I was fascinated to see the pasture grasses and weeds covered with snow, creating a simple beauty:

 The dark patches beneath the snow covered pasture foliage were water. It made the white grass stand out even more:

Around The Farm - Part 2

One day we had a big freezing rain storm. The next morning, I found everything covered with about a half inch of crystalline ice. The apple trees glistened in the sun:

The brush along the edge of the road was crystal covered also. Notice the Chickadee in the bottom of the photo:

The neighbors' barn and horses shimmered in the reflected sunlight:

  My old fashioned lilac was especially heavily laden, and a very popular landing spot for many of the birds who frequented the bird feeders:

Especially the Chickadees:

They have been both numerous and quite tame this year:

Sparrows were also common at both the bird feeders and in the lilac bush:

And, of course, Blue Jays. I've also gotten Redpolls, Goldfinches, Mourning Doves, Cowbirds, Starlings, Harry Woodpeckers and Downy Woodpeckers. There have been a number of other species but I haven't been able to identify them all:

The cattails and brush along the edge of my north field glistened like fine crystal:

And everywhere the beauty of winter was evident:

My tenant has moved out and, with the apartment empty, his side door has gone unshoveled. The Flowering Crab trees, all covered with ice, watched over it:

The Trail Toward Madawaska Pond, Part 1

It was Easter Sunday morning and I was hiking trails off of Blue Mountain Road with my four youngest dogs. We'd just finished the scenic Canoe Carry to the St. Regis River and I'd intended to hike up St. Regis Mountain next but was experiencing weakness in my legs. So I pulled off the road and we began to walk down the trail toward Madawaska Pond. This was billed as relatively short, level and scenic so I figured my legs would see me there and back:

We walked through a Boreal Forest of wild beauty and small creeks with mossy banks passing beneath fragrant Balsams. It was gorgeous:

The trail was level, broad and just the ticket for an old codger with weak legs. The dogs bounced happily along, apparently thinking this was just about the finest adventure ever. But of course they think that about everything we do:

And what was that up ahead? Could that be ice even after all the hot weather we'd had?:

Indeed it was ice, and the dogs seemed to enjoy walking on it:

The soil was incredibly sandy and we came to several spots which were open and almost like an ocean shoreline:

The sandy trail wound peacefully through the Spruce and Balsam forest:

My only concern was the numerous dog-like scat along the trail. I guessed it to be from Coyotes and, though I didn't suppose they were a danger to us, I had to bear in mind that I had two tiny and delicate Papillons with me. But of more immediate concern was that the dogs began trying to eat the poop. I caught Clover looking like she was smoking a cigar and then realized she was eating Coyote poop. This was not acceptable for many reasons and I had to interrupt our otherwise idyllic walk with several sessions of loud bursts of "No, No, No, No, No! Drop That!":

But aside from the above mentioned poop problem, the walk was serene and lovely. I stopped beneath the Spruces and Pines to photograph these British Soldier Lichens:

The trail was marked occasionally with yellow rocks although I couldn't imagine how anyone could get lost or confused. The trail was a broad, sandy road through an almost impenetrable forest:

And we walked on through the quiet forest, enjoying the beauty and the wonderful aromas. There was little sound save for the wind through the trees and an occasional Blue Jay or Warbler (unknown species):

The sandy trail was great for seeing who had been there before us. Clearly there had been a lot of very large Turkeys walking the trail recently. I'll post more tomorrow: