Yesterday started sunny and clear, a good frost overnight. As we headed out for our morning stroll, (it's pretty darn slow these days as we go at Calli's speed), I dumped some coleslaw and some yogurt over the fence to the chickens. The coleslaw we ate for 4 days as part of our Whole30 meals. It had turned bitter and both of us had had enough of it. The yogurt has been sitting in the fridge for the last two weeks, and being dairy, is off limits to us right now. I'm just happy that nothing goes to waste though! The hens didn't think much of the coleslaw either, but they sure liked that lemon yogurt.
As we were walking we could see the fog hanging at the edge of the land to the north, where it drops down into the river valley. Once again threatening to roll over us.
As we walked down the trail, I spotted this. Kind of looks like white fur doesn't it?
What it is is ice crystals. Maybe you've all seen it before. I just find it one of those amazing things in nature.
There is some more info here
Those strands of crystals are about 2 1/2 inches long. We seem to get them if it is mild during the day, and then freezes overnight.
The old lady strolling along.
She will turn 15 in another 11 days. Pretty amazing I think:)
This picture makes her face look really old, but she actually looks quite good.
She is usually following along behind us, at her own pace, but sometimes she gets sidetracked and we have to go back and get her. She can't hear you unless you are within a few feet. This morning she ventured off the trail and got stuck of course. It doesn't take much to get her stuck these days.
And by the time we strolled back, the fog had rolled over the edge and down past us, but you can still see blue sky at the right. It did fully clear up again and was a beautiful day.
I went to visit my mum, who is now back at her care home. She is pretty well doing what she did before, toileting, getting dressed, etc, on her own, much to the dismay of the staff. Got to admire her independance, although the nasty tone of voice reared it's ugly head when I first got there. After that it was fine and we had a nice walk and found a sunny spot to stop for a while.
Happy Birthday to your Callie girl, she looks great for her age!
ReplyDeleteGood to hear you Mum is out and back to her place again. Hopefully she will stay on the mend:)
Callie is looking good for 15. I just love our seniors, even the ones with the cranky voices!
ReplyDeleteI have never seen ice crystals like that before. Nature truly is amazing Karen!!!
I love this post! Callie is still beautiful. She has certainly been well cared for. I have never seen anything like those ice crystals. It looks just like Eli's fur. Glad your mom is doing better. Mama used to act a little mad when I would go to visit her. She would say something like, " you must stay on the phone. I've been trying to call you all morning"! But then everything would be okay.
ReplyDeleteCallie looks great. Our Lab made it to 15 without ever a lame step. Only malady she got was "cold water tail" a couple of times which is pretty common with labradors.
ReplyDeleteI have never see in ice crystal strands before. What a strange phenomenon. Beautiful. Do they break if you pick them up? Glad Mom is on the road to recovery :0)
I'll bet you'll find the crystals if you walk in your woods after a below freezing night. They form on rotting wood, but also the wet ground along the bush trail pushes up with a more hardy ice crystal, or you will see it do the same on mole hills. They are quite delicate, but if you are careful you could pick off a clump.
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