We certainly have a healthy looking herd of deer this winter. They should be as we are going through over 100 pounds of whole corn a week!
I set out the game cameras over a week ago to find what kind of night activity we have been having at the feeders.
For the first time since we have been here we have seen our Barred owl looking for food in the afternoon hours.
The higher amount of snow has made it difficult to find mice and squirrels. To help the owls a bit, I have been "accidentally" spilling bird seed on the snow to possibly attract some mice for them.
On January 24 we had temps of -29º and on Jan. 25 we had -22º. Needless to say these are good temperatures to have fun with water.
We boiled up a pitcher of water then took it outside and threw cups of it into the air. We would get an instant puff of steam (accompanied by a "whompf" sound) and then a few drops of ice would fall.
The other fun activity was blowing bubbles (think of kids using the wands to blow bubbles). You can see the results of that below.
Last night's weather (5 Feb.) was very unique. We had snow, then sleet, then lightning and thunder (they call it, not surprisingly "thunder snow") then rain and finally a new six inches of snow through the night.
We now have 30" of snow on the ground.
The front of the house is draped with an an ice curtain hanging from the roof. We have been knocking the icicles off the back of the house over the door that the dogs go in and out of to avoid injury to them.
When Linda shovels the front walk, she has to fling the snow over shoulder height to get over the pile that has accumulated along the length of the walkway.
Tyler is now dwarfed by the piles of snow along the path in the back yard.
And to think...last year Linda only had to wear snowshoes one time to feed the deer because there wasn't enough snow to warrant them.
Taken through the kitchen window.
Taken with the Infrared game camera
(disregard any date and time stamps. Any high temps are from the camera being in the sun)...
Side yard looking toward deer feeder on "Paul's" hill.
I'm forever blowing bubbles... (in -22º temps)
frozen bubbles on snow
...starting to deflate
I'm melting......
...and deflating
Linda on the front sidewalk with her trusty snowshoes. This was taken several storms ago.
Mama manatee wishing she was back in Florida
The pictures below were taken by Linda
Awww, do I HAVE to come in???
The parting of the red white sea...
Have a seat on the bench...
The snow/rain gage that must be read daily to report to the NWS...
The ice curtain
Plowed snow at the end of the road
Linda is having to fling the snow pretty high now.
The decorations will come down in the spring. We don't light them at night anymore
Shoveled out ground feeder
Plowed snowbank with garage door providing perspective
Mama manatee is finding it very hard to maintain her sense of humor
That's it for now.
Take care everyone...Karen and Linda
Those are AWESOME pics Karen!!! Love the bubbles. Looks like you guys know how to have fun even when it's way past freezing!! Pics of the water in the air would have been pretty cool! Thanks for sharing and hopefully you'll get warmer weather soon!!
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