Wednesday, February 22, 2017

Wednesday in Wyoming - February 22, 2017

What's a cottontail supposed to do after a particularly heavy snowfall? This one spent a lot of time resting in what I called the caldera next to a juniper. But eventually he decided to venture out.

Why? Food, of course!
Judging from the quantity he ate, he must have enjoyed the dwarf iris.

One thing you may have noticed is that while the snow was deep next to the juniper, it's hardly visible here. You can thank the famous Wyoming winds for that.

Wednesday, February 15, 2017

Wednesday in Wyoming - February 15, 2017

Winter in Wyoming lasts well beyond the official end of winter on March 20. In fact, March and April tend to be our snowiest months, at least in Cheyenne.

The spring bulbs don't seem to have gotten that memo, though, so they start blooming in mid-February. Unfortunately, sometimes they have to deal with snow weighing down their blossoms. Fortunately, they often recover.

Wednesday, February 8, 2017

Wednesday in Wyoming - February 8, 2017

One of my favorite parts of winter in Wyoming is seeing how the local rabbits (both cottontails and jackrabbits) deal with it. This jackrabbit spent days hunkered down under this particular shrub.

The good news is, the shrub is only a few feet from my office window. The bad news is I spent far too much time looking at him rather than working on my manuscript. Such a fun distraction!

Wednesday, February 1, 2017

Wednesday in Wyoming - February 1, 2017

When you think of Wyoming in the winter, you probably envision the Tetons and literally feet of snow. While that's often the case there, other parts of the state have considerably less snow, including my hometown, Cheyenne.

In Cheyenne, snow is often accompanied by our famously strong winds, making it what I call sideways snow. That rarely sticks to trees, but occasionally we have perfect conditions to create a scene like this. It doesn't last long, but it's definitely beautiful.