Lamb or Lion

Ahhh ... sweet, sweet March!  Only you can arrive smiling on the first day, only to lash out with a nasty bite the next!  You really don't know if you are a lamb or a lion do you?  Yes, to say we had a mixed bag of almost everything today would be a bit of an understatement.  Blowing and drifting snow, snow, sun, more wind, sun, clouds, snow, sun, ... finishing off with clear skies and WIND!

North Winds ...

You know 'Winter' has officially arrived to stay when the temperatures plummet and the north winds howl making the windchill hover towards -30C.  'Winter' ... I wasn't quite ready to see you!  

Ground Blizzard

We had the honour of spending our day with our boys at the Holloway Farms Hereford Bull Sale.  Yes, it is that time of year and we take great pleasure in supporting Les, Karen and their family.  It's not hard when you are dealing with such hard working, honest people with a great hereford program!  

Now, if only the Polar Vortex was as nice as the Holloway's!!!  I think March is going to come in like a lion!  The arctic air has certainly landed!  

(I actually got out of the car to take this image ... lets just say my lens and my eyeballs are freshly snow blasted!  LOL! ... hence the very spotted image!)

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.

Rounding the Corner

With the temperatures set to plummet once again, the girls rounded the corner of the stubble field and headed back to the corral!   These roller coaster temperatures (-2C one moment and -25C ... make that -36C including the windchill, the next) do not impressive people nor critters!  

Drifting Snow ...

The snow was on the move today BUT at least it was warm!  Yes, the temperature hovered around 0C all day ... much better than last weeks Arctic cold temps!  

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!!!

Spring Eh?

If we had no winter, the spring would not be so pleasant; if we did not sometimes taste of adversity, prosperity would not be so welcome.  

~Anne Bradstreet

At 5:03 am, Spring officially arrived.  Unfortunately, hours before that, the wind arrived and the wind stayed!  Despite a high of +4C, a smidge of sun and some blue sky ...

the roads are a mess again!  

If the wind keeps howling, the roads that were plowed earlier will be filled back in!  Not the way most of us wanted Spring to start but hey, Spring is here and it can only get better ... right???

YUCK!

To say it was a beautiful February day was certainly an understatement at times today!  After a fresh dusting of snow, wind, blowing snow and mild temperatures that hovered around the 0C mark ... the roads were a sheet of ice!  Needless to say, we stuck close to home!

Oh That Drifting Snow ...

If you're not from the prairie,

You don't know the wind,

You can't know the wind.

Our cold winds of winter cut right to the core ...

~David Bouchard

The sky was blue, the temperatures were mild ... but the WIND was wild!  Thank goodness the temperatures were as mild as they were (-1C) and it wasn't snowing!  The roads are a mess as it is!

Winter Wind

Blow, blow, thou winter wind ...

~William Shakespeare

Yes, call this abstract or call it out of focus but trust me, if you were anywhere in Alberta, Canada last night and early into the morning, you know exactly what was going on!  I think most of us, at one point or another, woke to that howling, COLD wind!  After listening to the wind and dreaming about the wind and fearing everything in the yard had blown away ... I awoke to a windchill of -42C!  Brrr!  Oh well, the kids didn't have school, their Dad was home and we enjoyed the day ... INSIDE with the fireplace burning!  

A Dance in the Wind!

A dreary day that brought rain and wind.  And as the daylight fades and the rain ceases, the clouds continue to race on by!  Oh, how mesmerizing it is to watch the crops sway, bend and twist, dancing in the wind, on stormy days like today!  

Feathery Remains

This feather caught my eye as it danced and twisted in the wind today.  Yes, it was another overcast, windy spring day but hopefully those clouds will promise to bring some rain!  The prairie could certainly stand a bath!

Against the Wind!

And so the wind blows ... and it blows and it blows!  If we think its a struggle to stand in the wind these days ... have a chat with this lil' Tree Swallow (Tachycineta bicolor).  I watched her and her mate the day before being tossed in the air like rag dolls and today was not much better!  However, instead of being tossed in the air, she was just bracing herself on top of the fencepost awaiting her mates return.  It was a bit of a struggle for the lad but eventually Mr. Tree Swallow made it back to their nest and the two of them put on a united front and stood strong ... beaks into the wind!!!