#Barnscape and #Fieldscape pics, but the dog was in a mood so they might be a bit blurry...

#MorningWalk #midwest #CentralIllinois

Three things on our #MorningWalk:

* Milkweed is milkweeding (see pic). Budding, I guess? I should learn the names for different stages of the milkweed lifecycle. Tall as the tall grass and suddenly strong. Unpictured: poison ivy patch getting a bit out of control.

* In the same area, near a portion of the creek, strong scent of citrus, weed, and a bit of mint. The mint is bc there is a huge patch of wild mint there, but the other smells --- maybe the nearby (invasive) honeysuckle?

* Curious indentation in the tall grass, investigated by the dog, led to an unsightly portion of an undetermined critter, leftovers of some drama or some larger critter's dinner.

Curious dog made picture-taking difficult today. My barnscape and fieldscape photos are not quite in the same spot they usually are!

#Barnscape #CentralIllinois #Midwest

#MorningWalk

Three things the dog and I noticed (not visible in photos):
* large area of grass pressed down -- first thought was that it was clearly walked through. Second thought: seems too large for deer. Possibly driven on by a tractor? Hard to know sometimes what passes through the field.

* Three red-winged blackbirds perched on t-posts along the barn, calling to us as we passed.

* Milkweed patches are getting taller -- almost as tall as the grass at this point.

#CentralIllinois #Midwest #Barnscape

#MorningWalk

Fields are going crazy with this temperate weather plus decent rain, both the grass/brush and the corn.

#CentralIllinois #Midwest #Barnscape

I haven't been as good about my #Barnscape and #MorningWalk photos lately --- it's been so cold in the mornings!

So thinking I'll add a few new views to where I typically take my morning walk photos. Here's one candidate -- a different view of the barn, not the most scenic -- along with some milkweed pods I was smitten by this morning, looking abandoned and forlorn.

#CentralIllinois #Midwest

Snow is gone! (This was actually taken on Friday morning...)

#MorningWalk #SnowIsGone #Midwest #CentralIllinois

Snowscape with dog.

Our morning walk was super quick this morning. Even Winchester was ready to call it quits after just a few minutes (and a few sniffs).

#CentralIllinois #midwest #MorningWalk

Early-morning earthquake rattles central Illinois, St. Louis

USGS reports 3.8 magnitude earthquake struck near Ohlman, Illinois at 1:30 a.m. January 20. Shallow quake felt across St. Louis region, Peoria, Quincy with no damage or injuries reported.

India Weekly