January 4, 2013 Changes of seasons....

This is something I won't be seeing too much longer in the mornings.  "My" bucks are losing their antlers at a pretty rapid pace these days.  Two of the 8 pointers, including this one, still have their racks.  Two others, an 8 pointer and a fancy spike trying to be a fork horn, each have one.  All of the new bucks arriving are shed.  Seems like I used to have deer wearing antlers a lot later into the year.
But; has anyone else noticed how our seasons are changing.  It is currently 29 degrees out on a sunny day.  It used to be, this part of January, if it was sunny and clear like today, it would be -29 degrees below 0.  That, my friends, is a serious temperature change.  To be sure, the last few years, we have had a few -25 degree mornings.  But, they were few and not necessarily between Christmas and New Years, which were typically some of the coldest days of the year.  I am not complaining, mind you, about so few minus zero temperature days.  It just seems strange after living here all these years.  Also by now, we would have plenty of snow to ski on or snowshoe on.  It is barely passable skiing.  I can walk anyplace I choose, yet.  Again, not complaining....just finding it kind of strange. 
Some people in other areas have also mentioned strange things, like green grass in their yards the first of January.  That wasn't here in northern Minnesota, but in states that generally have decent snow  cover this time of the year.  So, whether you buy into global warming or not, it is different.
I am still awaiting my installation of Hughes Net.  It was supposed to be yesterday; but, something came up.  Sounds like next week.  They missed a nice weather window of opportunity here by the delay.  But, I am so ready.  I haven't been able to get enough speed to do this blog for several days again.  Some times, by the time it happens, I can't remember what my subject was going to be.  This too shall pass.....when I have a more regular, dependable schedule on my internet.
It is also a time of year, now, for beautiful sunsets.  They are always so interesting or pretty.  The one last night reminded me of a hummingbird in flight, a wispy pale thing, over the colored clouds.  The one I am going to post is from the night before.  It was pretty intense with a flare that changed every few minutes.  No serious reds or pinks like some evenings though.

And....as I should learn, some photos of this style, do not do well on such a small format.  They are too dark.  They need a much bigger space to show off what they really look like.  But, you can go to some of my Moose Valley Photography Facebook photos and see them in a bigger format.   I still haven't added anything to my Moose Valley Photography.com web site in ages because of the slowness of the internet any more.
Well.....we are off and running in to the new year.  Let's all do our part to make it the best we can!
With that, Toby and I are off and running/walking.....on this beautiful sunny day!  :)