One Day After Our Snow Melt - Part 2

I was driving along the gravel road near my house to see the wintry beauty of new fallen snow (see also Part 1, posted yesterday). These tall Red Pines held the snow on towering heights:

Down lower, the bushes and saplings created a pearly lacework:

The small tree in the center of the photo was bowing gracefully:

A Cedar added a bit of green to the otherwise black and white tableau:

And the coppery leaves of a Beech added color in other places:

This was all private property, but some places sure looked inviting, seeming to say "Come walk around and explore:"

Red Pines and Beech trees:

A luminous filigree, created by snow covered branches:

Pines and hardwoods:

Beech trees and an old barbed wire fence:

White Pines have long, soft, flexible needles - five per bundle, and drape themselves artistically under a heavy, wet snow:

I turned onto another road to make my way home and began following a former field, now grown up into woodlands, as I continued to admire the wintry beauty. I put my camera away, however, for I had work to do at home:

One Day After Our Snow Melt - Part 1

If you saw yesterday's post, you know that our snow had almost all melted. The very next morning, I woke up to a winter wonderland - and the snow kept falling:

I took a drive down the (unplowed) gravel road alongside my pasture fence to see the wintry beauty. White Birch were plentiful. That's my pasture on the other side of the trees:

The scenery became mostly forest as I continued on past my property line:

A small, unused field was backed up with woods which looked as if they'd been dusted with powdered sugar:

A neighbor had cleared out around some old apple trees and pruned them:

Much of the tall Red Pines along the road have been cut, but some remain, and they are beauties:

A Beech tree had grown up outside the old fence which shows that there was once a pasture here:

It's hard to tell from the photo, but I think I remember that this was an Eastern White Cedar, a common tree in these parts:

An old stone wall, gradually being swallowed up in tree growth. I once live-trapped a mouse and released it here, hoping it found a good place to live:

The snowy tracery of small brush:

A White Pine had sprung up amid the hardwoods and Red Pines:

A golden leafed Beech behind an arabesque of snowy branches. But there was still more wintry beauty to see, and I'll post Part 2 tomorrow:

The December Life Of Blue And Remy

Remy doesn't much like the new, stony gravel in front of the barn door, but he'll walk across it to get inside:

Both Blue and Remy seem to insist on eating grass, even when there is so little left that I can't imagine what they're finding. On the other hand, they're both fat, so I know they aren't starving - and they always have hay available:

Who, us fat? Look who's talking:

Remy came in for a closeup and a kiss. Yes, he's that sweet. Blue doesn't much go for all that mushy stuff:

One of Blue's back legs seems stiff and sore again. This has been a recurring problem and seems to be locking stifles. The vet has seen him several times but apparently there is nothing for it except more exercise. That's why I began leaving them out all the time instead of putting them in a stall, though I must admit it also makes life easier for me (no stall to clean every day):

We've had alternating snow and no snow - a surprise every day:

The boys seem immune to the snow and cold. In fact, they seem to enjoy it:

And they've learned to get their hay when the cows aren't all crowded around the bale feeder:

Even when the ground is covered in snow, they seem to enjoy digging down for green(ish) grass:

I don't know if Blue made this trail or just used one made by someone else (he seemed to be flummoxed at the end of it). Either way, he looked pretty, with his black and white coat against the snowy background:

Remy comes running when he sees me - well, usually. This time he didn't:

Blue sometimes can't be bothered to even stand up. They sure aren't work horses, though I think Remy would enjoy a job to do. Blue would rather be a lazy pet:

The Blizzard Of March 2017

Note: Four new photos added to this post today (at the bottom)

I wasn't worried about the predicted blizzard yesterday because we were north of the heavy snowfall areas. It began snowing here at 5:00 AM but I still wasn't worried. The cows were covered with snow when they came in for morning grain, but I still wasn't worried:

With the morning chores done, I came inside to spend the day. The dogs got out every couple of hours to play in the snow. Seamus is particularly fond of the snow:

Daphne and Clover weren't fond of the snow, but they were brave:

But most of their time was spent in the farm house kitchen, safe and warm:

Clover and Daphne curled up on a floor pillow with Rocky and Bugsy:

Just before noon, however, the blizzard began. This was the view to the northwest, with almost whiteout conditions:

And the view to southwest. Not much was visible:

Toward evening, I put Remy and Blue into their stall for the night. They seemed happy to go there:

The cows, all covered with snow, were standing outside the barn door and begging to come inside:

They looked so pathetic that I quickly let them into the barn:

I'd already thrown down hay and placed piles of it in each stall. They wasted no time, diving right into it:

And speaking of snowstorms, my sister sent me this photo, forwarded to her by a friend, of our childhood street on December 17, 1950. The houses were newly built and I was two years old. My sister was only four months old. Our house was the darker colored one about midway on the left. I guess we should be used to heavy snowfalls by now, shouldn't we?:

Added this morning:

I did the morning chores, but they were difficult because the snow is so deep. In most places, it is over my knees, which means that we got more than two feet so far. It's still snowing heavily, but it's no longer a blizzard. The winds are now from the west instead of the north. The wild birds were unable to get to the snow covered seed, so I had to clean off the feeders:

I kept seeing birds trying to get seed, but I took a couple of photos before I cleaned off the feeders:

The cows spent Tuesday night in the barn but were outside, trying to find hay beneath the snow when I got out there. I called them back into the barn for grain, then sent them back out, where they too found the snow up over their knees:

Blue and Remy spent the night in their stall, but were anxious to get outside and play in the snow. They seemed to think it was fun. I'll have a day of snow shoveling and plowing ahead of me: