Spring Seeding

And so it begins ... off to the field we went!  After a few "kinks" were worked out, our spring seeding officially started!    

Our boys LOVE being with "Dad" but especially when it comes to farming with their Dad!  Did you know that 2014 is the International Year of Family Farming?  Whether or not our boys choose to continue to farm later in life ... all I know now, is we are having a blast farming as a family and raising our boys in this wonderful rural setting!  

Happy Friday, Happy Seeding and Happy Weekend Everyone!  

Daily Dozen

Happiness flutters in the air whilst we rest 

among the breaths of nature.  

~Kelly Sheaffer

Keeping to fellow blogger, Tammie Lee's 'Numen' challenge, I could't resist capturing an image of this herd of 12 mule deer bounding across one of our native pastures this afternoon.  I often feel like so many people dismiss the prairie landscape as a place of beauty, often quoting it's "barren" nature.  Hmm ... perhaps "barren" when viewed with a quick glance BUT streaming with rich wildlife and diversity when gazed upon!!!  Something to ponder when looking 'over the fence!'

Mrs. Nutty

Meet my friendly neighbourhood 'White-breasted Nuthatch' (Sitta carolinensis).  Trying to take photos of her is like trying to catch a missile in a spider's web!!!  Although not the best, I did manage to capture her in true 'Nutty' Nuthatch form ... UPSIDE DOWN!  Yes, Nuthatches forage upside down!

Winter Waves

As you scan this old prairie, the wind has certainly sculpted the landscape into a rough, choppy sea of white waves!  

Winter in the Hay Field

A quick snapshot while choring late this afternoon.  Happy Monday Everyone!

Lip Smacking Good

Enjoying their grub on a sunny BUT cold afternoon!  

Sifting ...

Brew me a cup for a winter's night.
For the wind howls loud, and the furies fight...
~Minna Thomas Antrim

The calm before the storm OR in this case the 'breeze before the gale force winds!'  As the sun dove behind the horizon and the temperature reached to anchor itself around the mid -20's, the snow was beginning to drift and sift across this prairie land.

Winter Abyss

Peering through a passenger window one can dream of tropical mirages but the reality is you don't see them!  At least I never did!  LOL!

On The Road Again ...

And Can't Wait to Get Off the Roads!!!

With the 'OFFICIAL' arrival of Winter (we won't mention the fact that 'Old Man Winter arrived almost 2 months ago!) and our shortest day of the year, the weekend was kicked off and filled with 'road running!'  Between the final hockey game of 2013, early Christmas celebrations with family and friends, and last minute errands ... I am looking forward to the sanctity of Christmas Holidays at HOME!  Enjoy the weekend!

Those Prairie Scavengers!

Truthfully, I took these images yesterday when the sun was shining!  It was such an overcast, blah, grey day that I preferred putting my head in the clouds and pretending that the 20th of December was sunny not overcast!  Wow ... the 20th, I guess that means only 5 more days till Christmas doesn't it?  Hmm ... I guess that would also mean that the  Winter Solstice is on our door step!

Fog Bow or Sun Dogs?

It's darn cold this morning BUT the wonders of nature are beautiful!!!  I'm leaning towards this as being a Fog Bow with the sun reflecting in the low-lying fog but that's just my guess!  All I know is that it's very cold outside ... especially if you dash out without a scarf over your nose!  Brrr ....

Our Saturday Snowshoeing Adventure

The boys and I finally pulled out our snowshoes and this afternoon was a perfect day for snowshoeing!  We started off walking ...

But then 'someone' thought we should RUN!

That lead to falling into a hole in between fallen trees!

Then we decided to play 'Follow the Leader!'

Just me and MY FOOT and Snowshoe (proof that I was participating!)

We climbed prairie knolls ...

We went down hills, sometimes tripping and falling! 

We crossed frozen, shallow Prairie sloughs.

The hounds followed in our footsteps.

And as the sun started to get lower in the horizon, we headed for home!

We hope you enjoyed your day as much as we did!

The Bite!

Like the 'bite' of these wild rose thorns, we endured a nasty, tongue lashing, cold, biting East wind most of the day!  Winter really isn't that horrible of a season 'IF' the wind doesn't howl!  However, when it does ... it BITES!!!  

(Grr ... again, Blogger altered this image when uploaded!!!)  

Morning Stroll

(Blogger is driving me crazy these days ... as some of my images are altered either darker or lighter when I upload them!  Grrr .... this image isn't this dark)

After last weeks miserable cold temperatures and nasty winds, I managed to get our hounds out for a long 2 hour run (yes, they ran ... I trudged through the deep snow!) this morning!  We checked on the cows, gazed at the winter landscape and said our "hello's" to some of the bred heifers on our way back home!  It was a beautiful morning!

Snow Covered Pea Stubble

The wind settled, the sunshine returned and the boys headed back to school today!  Just a quick snap of our wintery landscape!  

Blustery!

Our ARCTIC cold temperatures of last week were actually replaced with balmy subzero temperatures of -5C today!  However, the wind certainly kicked it up a notch causing heavy drifting and reduced visibility this morning ... so much so, that the kids enjoyed yet another day of the school buses not running!  All I can say is that after having housebound boys for most of last week, I really hope the boys have school tomorrow!!!

My Equine Imps!

Leave it to this crew to have a bit of fun, even in the cold!!!  To say our horses like to wreak havoc in the home pasture once in awhile could be considered an 'understatement!'  It's a good thing I adore their 'impish' personalities!

Snow Puffs

The extreme windchill warnings and arctic cold temperatures continue but somehow the Chickadees, despite their puffed little chests, still warm the atmosphere with their delightful, cheery songs!  Gotta love happy Chickadees!

Frigid!

With our temperatures being as low as -36C and the added bonus of the wind making the temperature outside feel like -46C, one might say it's a bit 'FRIGID' outside these days!  Yes, the extreme windchill warnings and cold temperatures continue and with that I don't venture very far with my camera!

Downy Woodpecker

Feeling sorry for the 'feathery poofs' huddled in the tree branches and trying to stay warm in the -30C + windchill temperatures, I refilled all of our bird feeders this afternoon.  This female Downy Woodpecker seemed quite thankful I had!  It's supposed to get COLDER!  Stay WARM everyone!