Kaseys Korner

February freeze

We've been experiencing some of our coldest weather of the winter since the calendar flipped over to February.  Remember the minus 20 degree temps I posted about last week?  Today we're in another deep freeze ~ single digits with overnight temperatures below zero again.  ugh. 

When it gets this cold, I feel like a slug and certainly don't enjoy being outdoors.  I force myself to keep clean water in the birdbath (it's heated) and make sure the feeders stay full.  I know this is no time to think of myself and neglect them.  Something new, coinciding with the cold ~ a Downy woodpecker has been making daily appearances at the suet cage:

Apologies for the photo ~ it's not the best quality because the suet feeder is at the back of my garden plus it's taken thru the kitchen window glass.  

I am happy to welcome him as a regular to the garden and hope he continues to visit even after the temperatures moderate.  It is cheering to look out & see him so often.

I've had a lot of non-gardening activities occupying my time lately so maybe it's okay that it's cold?  Did I really just type that??  Helps me stay focused and not want to wander outside instead.  This weekend is supposed to be much nicer so I plan to check on those snowdrops plus look for any other signs of new life/activity.  I hope it's better gardening where you are?  

 

Sweetheart Balloon Rally

It takes a lot to get my household out of bed & into the car by 6:30 AM but a hot air balloon rally is something that can definitely make that happen.  Even tho we are fortunate to see hot air balloons sail over our house throughout the year, the opportunity to see thirty in one spot was irresistible!  At least I thought there were going to be thirty ~ maybe something happened to keep the numbers down?  I know I was a bit disgruntled at first because the best viewing sites were not the optimum photography ones ~ looking east (toward the sunrise) and thru a maze of power lines.

I had the fleeting thought I should have stayed in bed ~ the impatient side of my nature showing thru.

But ever so slowly, conditions began to improve.  The balloons lifted:

and drifted across the sky ~ sometimes even stair-stepping up:

The clouds eventually gave way and that famous blue Colorado sky provided the incredible backdrop I had pictured in my mind:

A lot of these balloons are ones we've seen individually above our house over the years.  I know I've shared this one with you before:

Easy to see why it's a favorite of mine with the floral design.  My daughter, however, loved this one:

There has to be a great story behind its inception!  I wish I knew what it was.

We only saw twelve balloons but by the time we left, we were glad we'd made the choice to give up some sleep.

There's just something so ebullient about seeing those vibrantly colored, gigantic balloons floating peacefully in the serene morning sky.

Starts the day on a happy note every time.  :-)

 

foreboding skies

The forecast yesterday called for flurries and snow showers during the evening, lingering thru this AM.  If you happened to miss that information, it wasn't difficult to tell something was up by looking skyward.  I'll show you what I mean thru the photos I snapped at sundown ~ one looking east (with the moon rising) and the others looking west (following the setting sun).  The rising moon, barely breaking the cloud cover, above the bare branches of the aspen:

 

This is most definitely a winter sky.  A sight I'll get very familiar with in the months to come.  To the west, however, an entirely different scene:

 

An unaltered photo of the setting sun creating a most beautiful silhouette of one cloud.  Spectacular, isn't it?  Absolutely worth a closer look:

 

I opened the blinds with trepidation this morning, expecting a blanket of white.  Exhale.  Nothing but brown.  It missed us.  Sigh.  I am never ready for that first snowfall of the season.  I'm glad it decided to hold off. 

Sunset over the Rockies

 

I don't usually participate in the Sky Watch Friday posts I see so many others doing, mostly because I'm bad at doing things on a schedule!!  I've been hanging on to this sunset photo from last year tho and finally decided to drag it out.  I love a lot of things about it (the white barn & pond shadowed in the foreground for one) and hope you'll find beauty in it this AM as well.  I'm off to a riding lesson and another senior portrait photo shoot.  Have a great weekend!

friday night lights

Whew.  Yesterday was a hot one.  107 smoking degrees.  It was fit only for swimming in the lake which is exactly what we did.  After playing on the floats and riding the wakes created from passing boats we actually didn't feel the heat anymore.  The day was topped off with this spectacular sunset.  I guess we need to repeat it again today and tomorrow as we're supposed to stay in triple digits the entire weekend.  Stay cool everyone!