Round Barn in NY

In late October we passed this round barn as we were driving along the road in New York.  It was late in the afternoon on a wet rainy day and we wanted to get a ways further down the road that day, so I only managed drive-by shots.

I like the way the entryway door mimics the round roof.

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Check out more old barns at Tricia's Barn Charm. 

Redpoll Fluffballs

This morning we woke up to 50 below.

The Redpolls were just a little bit slower to visit the feeders, but soon they were busily fueling up for the day.  Their feathers were puffed up as far as they would go.

I watched them hop across the deck, pecking at the sunflower chips that had been scattered on the snow.  Of course, I stayed inside where it was warm.  The little guys were fluffed up so much that you couldn't see their feet at all, and their wings that usually are held tight across their backs stuck out a bit.  I couldn't help but smile as I watched the hopping fluffballs.

As the sun rose a bit higher in the sky it warmed up to 40 below, and the fluff was a little less.

They are tough little birds!

Afternoon Winter Skies

These shots were taken over the last several days.

Barn TLC

I took these photos at the end of October near Reading, PA.

We were driving on the country roads and saw many lovely old barns.  This one was getting a bit of TLC.  You can see a clue to that in the photo below.....

....and around the corner the work in progress.  (Just ignore the travel "blemishes" on the windshield.)

In the photo below you can see the painter off to the lefthand side.  As near as I can figure they were painting the barn blue because of the overspray of blue paint that you can see in that photo, and in the photo above you can see roller marks on the lefthand side.  I think they may have experimented with colors trying to decide just how they wanted it to be.  I wish I could see it now after they've finished with the paint job, but I probably couldn't even find it again if we went back to Reading.  It's good, though, to see one of these old beauties getting some TLC.

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Click on the barn below to hop over to Tricia's Barn Charm to see more old barns.

Skijoring at Creamer's Field

In the spring, summer, and fall the fields at Creamer's Field are reserved for the birds.  In the wintertime, though, they become a playground for many different activities.  Skijoring is one of the popular ones.  There are a lot of cross-country skiers here, and also a lot of of sled dogs who love to run.  Put the two together and you have a fun activity.  The cross-country skier provides power with his skis and poles and the dogs provide additional power by running and pulling.

The skier wears a skijoring harness and the dogs wear a dog sled harness and the two are connected by a rope.  There are no reins or other signaling device to control the dogs.  The dogs just like to run and respond to their owner's voice for direction.

The dogs in the photos below can hardly wait to get out on the trail.

It's hard to contain yourself when you are so excited.

The skijorers follow a trail that loops around the side field and then around the front field.  It's a nice flat trail with no obstacles to dodge, so it's the perfect place for a good run on a sunny afternoon.  I took these photos on the same day as several previous posts when it had warmed up above zero after a long stint of 40 below.  Yes, it did drop back down again, but it crept back up today to 15 below for a while, but we are looking at nighttime temps to be hitting 40 below for the next week at least.

Winter Container Gardening

Container gardening is a little different in the wintertime here in Fairbanks.  My whiskey barrel planters appear to be blooming with snow.  The afternoon sun shines across the yard at a low angle, and it makes the snow in the whiskey barrels glow.

I upped the contrast a bit on the two photos above, but the shot below is just as it came out of the camera.

A big contrast from the way the whiskey barrels glow in the summer.....

Creamer's Dairy Barns

While I was at Creamer's Field on Wednesday I of course took some photos of the old dairy barns.  There was a bit of sun peeking through the clouds to highlight the white of the barns and farmhouse.

And if you squint just a little you'll be able to step back in time to the early 50s when the dairy was a flourishing business, with 80 milking cows and many acres of land planted with hay and peas for feed for the cows and another 50 acres planted in potatoes for sale to local stores.  It was billed as the Northernmost Dairy in the World, and they listed a wide variety of products:  milk, ice cream, sherbet,  cottage cheese, whipping cream, buttermilk, chocolate milk, and even "orange drink," which was mixed from concentrate and bottled at Creamer's.  The dairy employed from 12 to 16 people and distributed 250-300 gallons of fresh milk and dairy products daily and manufactured 400 to 600 gallons of ice cream and sherbet each day.  That may sound like a lot of ice cream for the small town of Fairbanks that only had a population of 5770 people.  Including the surrounding areas and the two military bases, the greater Fairbanks population was 14,000.  You need to take into account the fact that Alaskans eat the most ice cream per capita of any state in the U.S.  I try to do my part--ice cream is my favorite bedtime snack, winter or summer.

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If you like old barns, be sure and check out Tricia's Barn Charm to see lots more old barns.

View From the Kitchen Window

Last week we had a few days of warmer weather, and then as predicted the thermometer plummeted to 45 below.  As I didn't   have anyplace I had to be I stayed home yesterday and today and watched the activity from my kitchen window.  The cold didn't stop the Redpolls or the Hairy Woodpecker from visiting the feeders.

I was constantly drawn to the window to admire the late morning sun as it glowed through the trees.

I captured a silhouette of a Redpoll in front of that glow.

As the sun moved across the sky it was brighter, but it still provided no extra warmth.....

.....and a Redpoll peered up at the thermometer as if in disgust that it had only risen to 40 below.

And all day long the Redpolls continue to come to the feeders, keeping their feathers puffed up to keep them warm.  It takes a lot of food to maintain even such small birds when it is cold.

Then today when it warmed up to 35 below a lone Chickadee ventured out to feed on the peanut butter suet and sunflower chips.

We are supposed to have temperatures in the daytime maybe up to 20 below but dropping down again at night for the next several days.  It is January, after all, and our coldest time of the year.

Winter Trees at Creamer's Field

One of the places I stopped to take photos on Wednesday was Creamer's Field.  The trees there are always beautiful in winter, and I love seeing the patterns in the branches with the snow clinging to them.