Winter in North Dakota

Orchids are not that ordinary for us in January.  They are hard to see in all of the snow since many of them are white in color.

Winter is beautiful in North Dakota though.  Don't believe all those stories about wind chills and wind advisories.  It is just a ploy to keep the rest of the world from discovering our garden spot.  When I took these pictures it was near 80 degrees and humid!

January brings out the best of our colors as you can see.

Spring appears to be coming early... must be global warming.

Even Birds of Paradise are in bloom.  Slangers have nothing on us.

These are unusual plants even for North Dakota.  They have water in their pouch.  I saw on TV that squirrels lick the top of the plant because it is sweet and leave a "gift" in the basket to be used as fertilizer.  Who would think of that, I wonder?  I didn't see any squirrels nor did I see any "gifts."

I liked this guy because he is sort of subtle, like me.  Makes you want to get close to him, but he is not a hugger... if you know what I mean.

I've never seen an orchid that looks like this.  Look closely.  It looks like a face to me with big eyelashes... only those with true artistic gifts can see it.  Do you?

If you think there is something fishy about this blog, you are right.  The pictures were taken at a local nursery... but it was truly in North Dakota. 

Blizzard Aaron

Last night we had our first blizzard of the season.  By definition a blizzard has to have significant snow with visibility less than a quarter mile, 35 mile an hour winds or higher, and 20 degrees or colder. 

The newspaper names the blizzards like hurricanes are named.  This one is blizzard "Aaron."  I took these pictures out the front window of neighbors cleaning up this morning.

This man cleans our neighbor's drive and often does my sidewalk while he is at it.  He is 84 years old.

As so often happens after the blizzards in January, the cold comes as evidenced by the "sun dogs" this evening.  The shine on the ground is from the rain that turned to ice before the snow and wind came.

North Dakotans like to say that the cold keeps the "riff raff" out.  Last year we had a very mild winter and there was "riff raff" everywhere!

Relocating in 2013

2013 begins with us relocating... relocating wildlife from our back yard.  This cute bunny is the one yet to catch.  Two others have met their fate as below.

This live trap is used to relocate the critters away from my shrubs which they will chew the bark off from in the winter.  These same rascals cleaned out my neighbor's garden last summer. 

So to promote being a good neighbor, I decided enough was enough.  This little red squirrel likes the same kind of goodies as the rabbits.  They get under our sun porch and also need relocation.  Since they find their way back home from quite a distance, we have to drive this guy several miles south to the Country Club.  The rabbits only are taken a few blocks away to the river.

The whole family gets into the act.  Actually, she had better get involved because I threaten to permanently dispose of them with a pellet pistol.  So, the one with the heart is happy to help  relocate them.

It is probably good that you can't hear the endearing names my relocater is calling this little squirrel which didn't want to leave the security of the trap.  I was wanting to catch the instant the critter left the cage.

Maybe you can see the rascal in mid-air as he finds his new freedom on the grounds next to the Country Club.  So far two rabbits and one squirrel have been relocated.

This is the third and much wiser rabbit yet waiting to be relocated.  For several days he has walked around the cage and sniffed the seed bait, but won't enter the trap.  Everyday is an exciting adventure when you are retired and live in the frozen north!  Happy New Year!