Tag: ice

It’s still winter, and there is ice again: Photography challenge Day 11

Feb

2019

So yesterday was a mildly short day at work, due to yet another minor winter storm blowing through the area–which meant that it was a slightly late start for today.

Now I usually don’t mind winter all that much, it gets rid of the major insect pests (mosquitoes and flies) plus gets rid of the ticks. I can even put up with the colder temperatures (that just means one has to layer the clothes).

There are times when I don’t even mind the winter storms that come through. But what is really starting to get tiring is the yo-yoing of the temperatures and then a winter storm hitting. It can feel like it’s in the fifties one day, and then all of a sudden there is a cold front and a winter storm is threatening to dump ice and snow on us. But at least I’m not currently in the northern states where they are getting exactly that–ice and snow and more than they know how to deal with.

It will be interesting to see what March brings in terms of weather–I think they’re talking snow for the first weekend of the month. The spring equinox is less than three weeks away and then in theory we’ll be in “spring”. I wonder how many snow storms there will be during the first month of spring?

jessimatts No Comments naturePhotography amaturephotographericeicecoveredirisleavesiphonephotographyphotographychallengewinterwinterice

Photography Challenge day 43: The freezing water irises

Feb

2018

Well it was cold enough again this weekend that the pond froze over again. This is one of the two pictures I took of the pond this evening as I was outside filling up the bird feeders for the birds and squirrels.

It was nice to see that the bubbler was still bubbling, but at the same time the wind has blown enough of the water onto the brick that it has formed a good layer of ice at the edge. This has all the dogs (including the youngest leery of walking to the edge to get a drink of water), the oldest two can get water in the house–the youngest still seems to be afraid of the kitchen floor for some reason.

Here is the view that the animals have when they try to get a drink. The ice covers about a fourth of the brick (I think the design sixteen small squares broken up as four rows of fours). I know that it should be all melted by tomorrow night (hopefully) since we’re suppose to warm back up, but then we slide back down into the winter temps again on Friday.

I’m starting to wonder if the pond is going to be able to handle these freezes and thaws and when the breaking point is going to be for it???

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Photography Challenge Day 38: The ice that is trying to take over the pond…..

Feb

2018

Well its still cold enough that the pond is freezing over a little more each day. Though if the weather forecasts are to be believed, we’re suppose to be in the upper fifties by Friday, but then back in the thirties the next day.

I like how there is a clearing in the ice, mainly due to the bubbler spitting the water constantly–though it will be interesting to see what could happen this weekend.

It’s been a long week (luckily it is halfway over), so sorry for the shortish posts, and especially this short one. I’m hoping to have a longer post come the weekend.

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Photography Challenge Day 37: Boozer at the frozen pond (Another Short Post)

Feb

2018

Well today barely got up to freezing, which was quite obvious when I went outside after work to fill the bird feeders and saw the pond.

Boozer trying to get a drink at the pond

Our youngest dog Boozer, only drinks out of the pond–she never felt comfortable walking through the kitchen to the laundry area where the water dish is located (the other dogs will drink from both the pond and the water dish). I think she was a little confused by the ice that has started to form on the brick tile that was placed down there for the St. Bernard when she was alive.

The birds like flocking around the waterfall when it works, getting their water and a small bath in at the same time. It will be interesting to see how many more times this winter that the pond freezes over.

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The Pond after several days of freezing weather (short post)

Jan

2018

Well decided that today’s photography challenge was going to be a comparison set of photos of the bubbler in the backyard pond.

The pond is slowly freezing over, and the bubbler is slowly bubbling

The top photo was taken on Tuesday, when the high for the day barely hit twenty degrees outside. It’d been warmish the prior few days (upper forties on Sunday and then upper thirties on Monday–the cold weather came in mid-Monday).

The second photo was taken this evening as I was filling up the bird feeders again. Since it’s been so cold–I’ve actually been filling the back ones up daily, now that it is still light out when I get off work and get home to feed the dogs, fish, and wild birds (cats are fed before going to bed).

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It’s still cold outside….Winter is today’s winner of the photography challenge

Jan

2018

Well the little Arctic wind push has dropped the temperatures yet again today. I don’t think the temperatures broke twenty, when our high was suppose to be twenty-one. This morning, the temperature as I was waiting for the bus was a freezing five degrees above zero, with a windchill of five or six below zero. Luckily it was only a five or six minute wait for the bus this morning……… And I’m just noticing the play of the numbers from this morning with five being predominant over six.

I noticed the freezing pond this evening as I was outside filling up all the bird feeders again, with the temperatures it is almost a daily occurrence of having to re-fill the back two feeders (I only refill the feeder on the side every other day or every two days–mainly because it takes a good eight pounds of bird seed, where the other two only take about half a pound to a pound each).

We enjoy watching the birds, so filling the feeders are necessary to be able to view all the different sparrows, finches, the cardinals, chickadees, nuthatches, and the mourning doves. I’m going to try to get some pictures of the birds this winter, but usually when the door opens they fly away and wait in the trees until the feeders are filled and the humans are back indoors.

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Late entry–Day six of the photo challenge

Jan

2018

Oops–forgot to post these pictures and movie yesterday. So for the sixth day of the photography challenge, I took some pictures of the frozen aquatic landscape around the house. The temperatures for the past week have been so cold, that really anything that has water, that isn’t moving at a fairly decent clip is frozen (though I’m sure as I’m typing this, its all thawed out).

The frozen Stillwater creek that flows next to the house.

There is a small runoff creek that runs next to the house (and usually is dry majority of the time), but the little bit of rain and other types of condensation have allowed for a small amount of water to pool and flow through the creek. It is just such a mellow flowing creek, that it froze over during the past week.

Still photo of the little bubbler that could

Our little pond had basically frozen over, though the bubbler was still trying to get water out and up, but it looks like it is in a little protective coat with the way that the water would be freezing. It was nice that it didn’t totally freeze over, as this is the main spot that our collie mix goes to get water when she is thirsty.

Below is a video that I took of the bubbler working as hard as it could–hence the name of the video–the bubbler that could (a spin on the little engine that could).

The bubbler that could

I know that ice and low temperatures go hand in hand with winter, and that I shouldn’t be surprised if this happens a couple more times this winter and I won’t be if it does. I’m just hoping that there really won’t be any type of snow or ice days–because if you live in the south, you know that most of these states have no idea how to deal with those issues, and I don’t need those types of headaches this year.

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Day three of photo challenge

Jan

2018

Day three of the photo challenge, and it is a nature(ish) shot. The weather has been crazy the past week or so in the United States, parts of the lower 48 states are colder than parts of Alaska (and that just isn’t right), and there is snow in Florida and all along the east coast. I’m going to have to remind myself later this year that winter is only a few months out of the year, and large snowstorms on the east coast, usually equals a day off of work.

We have a very small pond in our backyard, that we put in shortly after we bought the house as a mother’s day gift for my mom. I still remember going with her to pick it out at Wal-Mart and then having to take it out of the box because the box was too big for the car. I also remember having to help dig the hole for it as well–and there is nothing worse than digging in Oklahoma red clay.

The bubbler is trying to keep the pond going.

Over the years we tried to have fish in it–but since we live next to a creek, there were numerous animals that saw the goldfish as an easy meal (raccoons and snakes primarily). So now it usually just was water irises and occasionally water lilies. It is also the only place that our bearded collie mix will drink from.

As you can see the bubbler is still going, though it does have a nice ice coat surrounding it. We will have a small warm up window where all the ice will melt, before we get back to the cold snap that is suppose to be pushing through the country again this weekend into next week.

I don’t mind winter, as long as I can bundle up and I really don’t have to be out in the weather too long, and that if there is snow it stays around just long enough for pictures and then disappears (unless its Christmas time, and then it can stay for a few days).

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