Welcome SkyWatchers

Keep looking up -- don't let those winter "blues" hold you down!

Fighting the winter blues is a little easier when you can end your day

looking at a sky like this one coloring the snowy banks of the fishing pond.

Peaceful blue twilight at Ridge Top Cemetary trail.

Adversity + Strength  =  Longivity

See the beauty around you every day. PrairieWalker 

What Can You Do With Dead Wood?

Pose a family member next to it.

Cover it with a blanket.

Use it to point menacingly.

Just a bit of fun with some pictures taken on the trails at Ballard's Nature Center trails on February 20, after several inches of snow fell in the area.

Frosty Seeds

Oh, it is still so cold. The wind chill was 6 above when I went for my morning walk.  This picture was taken on the Wetland Prairie Trail  with a frozen pond in the background. Those 100 degree F. days of summer seem so far away. As many are talking about the winter doldrums, I always feel so refreshed after a walk on the trails. The woods are there for renewal  of the soul... in any season....and I encourage families and individuals to get out and use the state or public parks and trails.


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

February Rain

Just stopped for a quick walk in the rain and shot a short video of the muddy Second Creek, swollen with a February rain. You can check out my first-ever You Tube posting at Ballard's Second Creek Video: Muddy waters run fast . Sorry, all I had with me was my old cellphone camera, so the sound is more relaxing than the image.

The most exciting discoveries found on my walks this weekend were the sightings of the first tufts of green popping through the snow, and the melodies of the first songbirds as they returned to the woods.

Eye Spy

The trails are too icy to traverse today and there is a forecast of more rain/sleet/snow on the way, so this "trailwalker" is going to stay put. 

But.....last week I snapped this photo near the fishing pond.  The water had crept up the banks of the pond, frozen, and then retreated. This left a lacy, paper-thin layer of ice at the pond's edge.

Since then I kept returning to this picture in my file, not knowing what to do with it, but intrigued with its curvy lines and subtle tones of brown. I finally figured out my attraction to the photo just a few moments ago when I saw it - an ice-painting of an animal with its mouth open. What's your guess? A flying squirrel? A chipmunk? A turtle? Or do you see something totally different?

S'no School Today

No class in session here, these benches have several inches of snow topping them. I have seen these benches filled with students listening eagerly as the resident naturalist teaches them to listen for the sounds of nature. Songbirds, squirrels, and buzzing insects, even the rustling of leaves, are all quiet today. All except...

In the distance, I can hear the creaks and moans of a young tree as it strains to hold up a fallen comrade.

I love the man that can smile in trouble, that can gather strength from distress, and grow brave by reflection. 'Tis the business of little minds to shrink, but he whose heart is firm, and whose conscience approves his conduct, will pursue his principles unto death.

Thomas Paine

Six Inches of Snow!

The wind chill was zero as I set out to hike around the main pond and through the woods to capture a bit of the mood after a Valentine's Day snowfall. Only a few deer tracks were winding around the pond as I trudged through the sparklilng snow. I thought I could get some good pictures, but the sun only held out for a short time. And of course, it was still snowing. Most of my pictures were unusable, but I managed to save a few taken while the sun was shining. I especially like the snowfall on the "Pay the Troll" sign.

Snowy Second Creek Bridge

The walk across Second Creek Bridge was not quiet - the snow crunched underneath my boots like saltine crackers. The water  in the creek was trickling across the rocks and added a sense of peace to my existance as I crossed over the bridge. Not many people were on the trails today, but since the temperatures held at the freezing mark and the sun shone brightly, those who were there were able to take full advantage of the beauty around them.

I took this picture of animal tracks in the snow, but neglected to put something next to them for size comparison. Each print was every bit of three to three-and-a-half inches wide and as long. These were found around the duck pond. As I walked on, I saw these tracks in a perfect circle, six foot in diameter.







This is the same view of the cemetary that was taken in October. Gone are the beautiful fall foliage colors, but the etherial calm is much pronounced.

"We have only this moment, sparkling like a star in our hand...and melting like a snowflake. Let us use it before it is too late."  Marie Beyon Ray

Frozen Limbs

Frozen limbs found at the bottom of Heart Attack Hill on a snowy day in February.