2:00AM

Its not the mountains or a beach along the ocean but that big ole' prairie sky makes for a great projector of wonderful phenomena!  

Spring Babes

With the exception of some bred heifers that we purchased back in February, our main cow crew is set to start calving May 1st.  Well ... this lil' hereford heifer thought she would kick things off with a set of twins!  Bring on the sunshine, the warm temps and more calves!  

Bring On the RAIN

Our spring has come at last with the soft 

laughter of April suns and shadow of April showers. 

~Byron Caldwell Smith

I know I'm a bit biased but you have to admit there is nothing quite like clouds rolling across a big ole' prairie sky!  Better yet, clouds that brought a few rain showers and NOT snow!  

Seasonal Discord

Friday, April 25, 2014:

So, things have been looking pretty good these past few days!  The Killdeer have returned, along with more shorebirds and more migratory birds, the bees are buzzing, the land is brown but slowly 'waking up,' the aspen trees look optimistic, the magpies are cheeky and our Ri-dog has water to swim in!!!  Spring really seems to be taking hold!

Saturday, April 26, 2014:

A quick compilation of star trails and faint aurora borealis.  It was such a beautiful night ... yes, Spring is here!

"Scrreeeeeeech"  "HOLD THAT THOUGHT!"

Somewhere between enjoying a beautiful starlit night sky and morning ... fog, clouds, and drizzle turned to bits of 'white stuff!'

As the evening went on ... more and more of that white stuff fell!  

Sunday, April 27, 2014:

Spring eh?  It would appear we woke up to winter once again!

Despite the contention between Winter and Spring ... our boys made the best of the situation!  Hopefully it was the LAST run with their snowracers!  By the afternoon, the sunshine returned and the snow was gone!

With May knocking on our doorstep ... lets hope Spring and RAIN win any future arguments with Old Man Winter!  

Tidbits

April prepares her green traffic light 

and the world thinks Go.  

~Christopher Morley

It was a bit of a frosty morn but when the sun melts away the frost and tidbits of green appear ... hooray!!!  My lawn is turning GREEN!  I kind of like green ... especially after 6 months of no colour!  

Emergence

Despite a cold, NW wind howling, overcast skies and the remnants of last nights rain (which was very welcome by the way), I managed to find a few little spots of 'Spring' emerging from the cold, drab, prairie landscape!  Aaah ... the Crocuses (Anemone patens) are beginning to make their beautiful Spring display!  

I absolutely love crocuses, like so many on the prairies do!  So delicate to look at yet so resilient to the harsh environment they emerge from, they are a gift of colour in the Spring!  

Sunday, Monday, Tuesday ...

Sunday, April 20th, 2014:  

It might have been a tad bit windy but after such a long, cold winter, to enjoy Easter Sunday with family under a sky filled with sun and those spring-time clouds was fantastic!  I hope you all had a great Easter!  

Monday, April 21, 2014:

Easter Monday was filled with much less wind, more sunshine and some sweet, warm temperatures ... and as the sun bid us farewell, some 'Moose' were out sauntering through the slough and heading for 'greener' pastures!  With Mother Nature and the Weatherman on our side, we just might have some much 'greener' pastures soon!  

Tuesday, April 22nd, 2014:

Ahhh ... spring really must be taking hold!  The boys and I spotted and heard a few Meadowlarks today!  If that isn't music to one's soul out on the prairies, I don't know what is!  I kindly asked this lad to turn and face me but he was very busy singing his heart out and that was okay with us!  His melodic tune truly is 'music to the ears!'  

Good Morning!

Could it really be?  Sunshine?  Ahhhh ... tis' the sun!

Blah ...

Another overcast, cold, drizzly day ... it even included a few more snow flakes!

Pink ...

Pink noses and hungry hawks!

I know its April, and this is the weather we can expect (cold, pink nose weather) in April BUT ... I really want to put our winter garments away for a few months!  LOL!

Oh Where Oh Where ...

Could Our Spring Weather Be?

Yuck!  Overcast, a skiff of snow and a cold wind!  Hence, a photographer with a gloomy pout on that snapped an old tree branch frozen in the slough!  *sigh!*

That Lunar Thing!

I wasn't sure just how much of the lunar eclipse I would actually be able to see thanks to a lovely display of cloud cover initially!  With a bit of luck and some wishful thinking however, the clouds parted long enough that I could see that gorgeous 'bloody moon!'

Eventually, the clouds rolled back in and my eyelids got heavy!  So with that, I tipped my toque (the breeze was COLD) and finally say goodnight!