Nature Notes: Crazy Quilt

Crazy quilt pretty much sums up the weather nature provided this past week.

On a mild, rainy day the female cardinal above had a shower and bath at the same time.

The next night we finally had a snow shower.

I was hoping we'd get more snow than we did but it changed to freezing rain.

It was pretty but I'm still hoping for a big fluffy snow.

The icy layer on top did make fun sounds when I walked through it.

It also stuck around longer even after the temperature was above freezing.

An ice layer over snow takes longer to melt.

The little sparrow looked cold but was grateful for treats I put out.

The one time I always try and feed the birds is when we have snow or extra low temperatures.

Some of the icy shapes clung to the leaves.

I still have piles of leaves I raked up in the fall but haven't moved yet.

There were little holes in the wintry mix which may have been from the hard freezing rain or possibly animals.

By Sunday most of the ice and snow melted and I walked at the lake.

I tried to photograph a great blue heron in flight but didn't get the picture until it landed in a pine tree.

I almost never catch them in the trees.

The gulls were quite active at the lake.

The geese were foraging for food.

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