Think Spring!!! Greenhouse Escape

Today may be the first day of spring..., but it sure doesn't look or feel like it!  Here's a clip that will give us all hope that springlike weather really is in the foresable future.  Enjoy!  --LKR

WQOW TV: Eau Claire, WI NEWS18 News, Weather, and Sports

Greenhouse Escape: Emily Valerio takes us on a short trip to a local greenhouse prepping for the planting season.

Health Care Bill Dangers

Graceful Lippizaner Stallions

These Lippizaner Stallions are awesome! Recently, 12 of these handsome boys were boarded at Trinity Equestrian Center right outside of Eau Claire, Wisconsin, for two days, enjoying the hospitality and fun that only Trinity can offer!

The history in this is fascinating, as well. Enjoy!!! --LKR

(The long version, followed by a short version if you don't have the time or are not as interested in it's history):

White Wisconsin Deer

This report was fascinating! I'd love to get the book "White Deer: Ghosts of the Forest"! Jeff Richter spent a decade photographing them, and John Bates did the research and writing. A larger population of white deer reside in the Boulder Junction, Wisconsin area where they were photographed for this book.

I've seen elsewhere that people claim that a true albino deer has pink eyes..., but there are many forms of albinism. Very interesting! --LKR

A Violet!!!

Sure, yesterday was officially the beginning of spring. And yes, many states such as New Jersey, Ohio, Minnesota, and Wisconsin all had snow falling from the sky on that promising day.

This morning, I took a few shots of the snow that had yet to melt. But what I discovered shortly after noon was really surprising.

A beautiful violet was in full bloom!!! I'd been lamenting that not a single crocus or daffodil has poked through the ground, but here was this cheery little flowery face looking up to greet me!!! Oh, what a beautiful day it's been! --LKR

Valentine Outing

Valentine greetings to you all! To celebrate this beautiful--but frigid--day, Hubby and I went to visit the south side of Big Falls County Park in the snow and ice.

It was a beautiful--but sometimes slippery--walk through the woods to get to the Eau Claire River.

My jaw dropped to see how the snow had melted in this part of the park. If the weather were not a factor, one would think this was a mid March day, here in western Wisconsin!!!

Yup, this river is full of shards of ice! Way cool! Hard to believe, but in all my years of existence, this was my first real up-close and personal look at a river in winter! Ponds? Yes. The Jersey shore? Of course. But never a river, and growing up, we were surrounded by the Passaic River and one of it's branches!!!

Cool, huh?! There were several formations like this close to the shore line.

Look at all the layers on this large piece of ice!!!

This kind of reminds me of the scene in the first Superman movie with Christopher Reeve where he finds out who he is and where he came from.

This looks too much like spring, doesn't it?!

Shortly before we left, we heard a horrendous cracking, heaving, and crashing noise. We supposed it must have been a huge chunk of thick ice that broke free on the upper, more spectacular part of the falls at the north of the park. --LKR

Wouldn't You Know It?

Wouldn't you know it--only in Wisconsin will you have a delivery arrive from a nursery while a winter weather advisory is in effect for Eau Claire!!! And a heavy snow advisory is in effect for the surrounding area!!! What happened to spring???

Well, these dormant plants will be spending a few more weeks dozing in our garage until I can plant them into pots... before they can actually be planted in the ground!

Please, Think Spring!!!

--LKR

Greetings from the Frozen Tundra!

A very Happy and Healthy New Year to you all from the frozen tundra! As you can tell, we are not lacking for snow up here in north western Wisconsin! It was an absolutely gorgeous sunny first day of the year, here!

I had wanted to get an early morning shot of the golden sun sparkling on the snow, but we're not puppy sitting, anymore. That would have been my motivation for not only getting up, but out in the early morning cold!

I'm very fortunate--my patient poochie not only waits for me to warm up to the idea of braving the cold, but to actually doing it! He's soooo good!

The kids go back to school, tomorrow, and have mixed feelings. None of them--nor either of us, for that matter!--wants to get up early! My hubby starts teaching at CVTC next week.

Here's hoping you all are having a good start to the new year! --LKR

Snow!!!

This is Wisconsin, so I shouldn't be too surprised that it's snowing in November--this for the second time, already! And, after all, 16 years ago it did snow in the Chicago area on my wedding day on the second of November!!! Imagine that--I've lived in the midwest for 17 years and I'm still not used to this weather! Never do I remember it snowing that early in New Jersey!

My poor little poochie puppy out in the white, fluffy stuff. It wasn't snowing when I put him out!

Some time after it stopped snowing, I counted 14 robins in just a small section of our yard! I'm sure there were even more of them hanging around close by--the deck obstructed my view. Yes, the snow did not stay on the ground too long!

Not all robins migrate south for the winter.

Those that stay behind feed on the fruits of bittersweet, crabapple, snowberry, sumac, and many others. At feeders, they look for treats such as apples, raisins, currents, oranges, cranberries, as well as other berries. They also like moistened dog food in the place of worms.

Bon appetit!

--LKR

A Sign from Above!

I just love this saying--it's so true and could rightfully be a family motto for the Kovacs clan. It's harder to do over the phone, but when my mom, sister and I are together, we still go into hysterics over silly--or goofy!--things we unintentionally say or do. My dad didn't always get it (English was his third language), so sometimes we'd drive him nuts!

Many years ago, I found this sign at Pioneer Garden on Villa Ave in Villa Park, IL. For those of you fortunate enough to live in the area, they have some really unique items there that make for excellent gifts! I think a lot of garden centers do, and not just because they sell plants!!! (--That said for those who know me!)

Just recently, I turned this ceramic plaque over and saw it was made by Trinity Pottery in Rice Lake, WI, which is about an hour from us! I'm sure I had seen that before we moved to Wisconsin, but it wouldn't have meant as much to me at that time.

They also have a slew of sayings on cute refrigerator magnets, if anyone's interest is piqued! --LKR

Jake the Snake

This particular post is not for the squeamish. It features photos of a feasting snake, and may be upsetting to some folks.

Jake is my son's little Fox (aka Pine) snake. A friend from a local church had found two Garter as well as two Fox snakes in a fence post hole, and rescued them. They were newly hatched and, oh, so adorable! He was giving them away to anyone who wanted one, and releasing any unclaimed. I did my best to sway my hubby in favor of this sort of pet. He gave in to the majority, and we happily brought him to his new home!

Jake is now about a year old, and has grown a lot. He has shed his skin several times, and has nearly quadrupled in size. He now eats up to five pinkies (baby mice) weekly. I've bought Jake fuzzies, but have yet to feed him these larger frozen (but well thawed when offered) mice. My sister and I agree: We love snakes, but just don't like what they eat. We've had mice as pets, and have both rescued and fed baby mice milk with eyedroppers.

Up here in the Land of Curds and Whey (aka Wisconsin), Fox snakes are abundant. In some states, they are considered threatened which is largely due to habitat loss. Their homes are farmland, prairies and wooded areas.

Unfortunately, snakes are still feared and largely misunderstood. Most snakes of the world are non-venomous and are actually valuable creatures that keep the rodent population under control. While I worked at Beaver Creek Reserve, a beautiful specimen was brought in during our staff meeting by two police officers. A concerned citizen spotted it on a playground and called it in. It had been rattling it's tail and a few people feared it was a Rattlesnake, even though one hadn't been spotted in the Eau Claire County area in a long time. (It would be a rare sighting.) Fox snakes will rattle their tails when frightened, and also may produce a musky smell from scent glands at the base of their tails.

Below are photos of Jake eating. It's taken me a while to actually get my "nerve" up to watch him eat! --LKR

The Race Is On!

The sun was shining, birds were sweetly singing, and bicyclists were whizzing by. The third annual Chippewa Valley Firecracker Bicycle Race, which took place in lovely Lowes Creek County Park, was on! A part of the Wisconsin Off Road Series (WORS), it was the fifth of twelve races taking place in the state, this summer.

The evening before, my youngest and I headed to the park to check which trails would be used. We also watched and greeted cyclists both young and old as they pre-rode the trails, becoming familiar with them. Several narrow, twisting, hilly trails had been chosen, along with some wider paths for passing. The Youth category rode a shorter lap of six miles. Citizen and Sport participants cycled 12 and 18 miles, while the the Comp and Elite Women rode three laps of longer trails, putting in 24 miles of mountain biking. The Elite Men rode four laps, totaling 30 miles.

One rider had a flat tire that he quickly fixed. Another had his handlebars suddenly loosen up and had to borrow tools to adjust it, loosing his place as the lead. Towards the end of the race, another man cheerfully walked past us with his bike. Having dislocated his shoulder, he was using his bike to help support his arm. These guys were real troopers!

Participants and spectators came from all over Wisconsin, but we were told that many more were from Minnesota and Illinois, as well.

The next of these races is scheduled for July 15^th in Suamico, WI. For more information on these events, check out their website at: http://www.wors.org/schedule/

--LKR