Monday, January 28, 2019

April in January

We are having the weirdest winter so far. It's been so mild that there are times it seems like April in January.

This is our pasture on January 14, for example:


The road in:


Lots of chattering water:


Across the canyon, an ephemeral creek roared as it rushed downhill:


The view across the canyon.


The cows take every opportunity to soak up the sunshine. It hasn't been unusual for temps to hover in the low 40s during the day.


I mean honestly, it's behaving just like April.



The chickadees and nuthatches are everywhere, so we even have birdsong.


Sometimes the temp drops below freezing. Here's some roadside puddles with an interesting ice formation.




And sometimes we'll get hoarfrost that only melts off on the sunny side during the course of a day.



Hoarfrost is fascinating stuff.







But I tell ya, does this look like January?




Now granted, we've gotten some snow. Just not a lot, and it doesn't last.



Chicken tracks. Looks like the writing from Dinotopia, doesn't it?


At last Friday's neighborhood potluck, I overheard several women express longing to start working in their garden. In January!

The extended forecast calls for a little rain and possibly some snow later in the week, but nothing dramatic.


All this can change, of course. I recall times we've had an entire winter's worth of weather in a week. But for now, the unusual winter continues.


I guess we have no complaints.

15 comments:

  1. I have so much enjoyed your beautiful photography with my morning coffee! Thank you!

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  2. Great photos. Thank you for moving on to a new topic :)
    Montana Guy

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  3. I have occasionally looked at Plummers weather. I am amazed at how warm it is there as close as you are to the northern border. You seem to miss most of the arctic fronts because of your location. Looks very good compared to my old home in northern Illinois.

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  4. I love hoar frost. It can give you a stunning "White Christmas"....with no shoveling. :-) Natokadn

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  5. Just rub it in.
    DennisinIowa
    -20 to -30 air temp wind chill -50 Tuesday and Wednesday

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    1. Dennis in Iowa, I've lived decades in Maine and Montana. The coldest 10 minutes of my life was pumping gas at an I-29 exit in Iowa. Folks were 'walking' at 45 degrees into the wind.
      Montana Guy

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    2. Howdy neighbor. Northern MN, with wind chill temps dropping into the -50's tonight. First time I can recall the USPS cancelling mail delivery tomorrow due to the cold!

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  6. Beautiful pics, but I sure hope that your fruit trees don't start to bud and have winter come back and kill your fruit crop. It's happened to me here in the U.P. Last year was really bad.---ken

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  7. Unbelievably, we are supposed to slowly warm after Wednesday up to the mid-70's in January. It is crazy.

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  8. And here in Central Illinois tonight expected wind chill of -50! Yikes this winter is truly schizophrenic. Enjoy your pseudo spring.

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  9. Lovely photos. I like that weather graph. Which site is it from?

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  10. Yes, it is nice, but am afraid we are going to pay for it. No snow translates to no irrigation water. Local snow is at 3.1 inches for this January, normal is 17.6 inches. Has been a lot of fog this winter.
    Stay warm, see you are at 18 this morning, 24 here.

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  11. Lol, I think we traded, Patrice. -5 this morning! I was going to leave the horses in for the day but they were raring to get out. The steer has a muzzle full of frost but seems wholly unconcerned. Oh well, at least it's not for long. The forecast for Monday is nearly 50 degrees!

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  12. read 'moosseintheyard.blogspot' about winters to come
    alaso natives in the north say the earth has shifted on its axis might account for weather being where it doesn't belong don't know which direction it shifted

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