Baptism Sunday

 
This post is different from most of my others, but it was a really good thing that happened today. If you are reading this and it doesn't make much sense to you, that's ok. Twelve people were baptized this morning at our church.

Baptism is just a symbol of a Jesus' death, burial and resurrection that indicates a person wants to be known as a Christian. Someone simply lowers the person being baptized under water and then lifts them back up. It's traditionally done with the person going backwards so that they have to demonstrate trust that they will be lifted up.

Each person was allowed to choose who they wanted to baptize them, and two of the guys had Omer do that for them.

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Just a Little Different from Yesterday!

 
Overnight we had a little bit of freezing rain that changed to "powdered sugar" snow. That made every soft flake stick to every surface. Even though the wind picked up this afternoon, the trees are still coated. These are my two favorite pictures from the day.





I did a lot of writing this afternoon and evening... and if you didn't see Joan Young Begins a New Adventure- Writes First Mystery Novel, feel free to take a peek.

	See Cold Magic
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Trees Along Hawley Road

I was out doing errands this afternoon and we had some lovely sunshine, which always adds magic to any landscape. I drove home via Hawley Road, and just liked some of the trees along the way.

The line of bare gray-brown trees on the left are Lombardy Poplar, Populus nigra. It's a European tree, but is often planted here for windbreaks. If you see a row of tall narrow trees, it might be these. Next, see the yellowish tree just beyond the poplars?



Have you ever noticed that weeping willows seem to look yellow all winter? That can be a clue about this tree. Yes, it's a willow, the black willow, Salix nigra. It's a common native willow, often growing on the edges of wetlands.

Finally, just a couple of miles farther was a lovely example of a Scotch pine, Pinus sylvestris.



Generally, Scotch pine are not on my list of favorite trees. I think they are coarse and scraggly looking when they are young. However, if they manage to survive to this size, they can be interesting. Especially on sunny afternoons. One way to help identify this species is to notice that the outer bark on the upper half of the tree peels off, revealing the reddish underbark. See how the trunk is gray at the bottom and coppery near the top? Here's the upper tree.



They also tend to have twisted branches, making the shapes interesting. The gnarly youngsters grow into real characters. This tree is unusually handsome.

I've featured Scotch pine before in Choirs of Trees

Even driving and looking at shapes of trees can give me a quality day!

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More Small Critter Tracks- Vole?

 
Although I went to Dublin yesterday, I also went out back for a walk with Maggie. It was a calm, warm morning and lots of wildlife had been out. The snow had softened just enough to take good tracks.

I think we are in a good year for rabbits. There were a huge number of those tracks. That might not be so good for the bushes, but the snow hasn't been so deep that they are really gnawing them yet.

Here are some tracks I haven't shown you before, because I haven't found any that were good enough to picture before this. And now that I have them, I have to admit that I'm not positive if they were made by a vole or a deer mouse. But first, here's what they look like.



They look a lot like squirrel tracks, don't they? You'd be right if you said yes. This animal also hops when it runs, like the squirrel does. That's what leaves the parallel sets of front and hind feet side by side, and the large hind feet land in front of where the smaller front feet were on the previous "step."

But these tracks are a lot smaller than a squirrel. I managed to break the little ruler I'd been carrying to measure tracks, but I put a glove down for scale.



There is about 8 inches between each of those track sets! Also notice that there is no tail mark.

I spent some time with my track ID books, and had settled on this being a vole, but then another book said that it could be a deer mouse. Apparently deer mice don't drag their tails, and also make long leaps. Deer mice are adorable with large black eyes and white underparts. (Adorable unless they are in your pantry.)

Either of these critters are found here in abundance. I'm leaning toward vole because of the width of the track. Voles are slightly larger than mice. But in truth, I'm not good enough to tell for certain. One book says that a deer mouse has four toes on the front feet and five on the back. This was the clearest print I found. Can you tell? I can't.

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Sure, an' We'll Next Be Goin' to Dublin

 


I couldn't resist, since we are on a theme. I've been to Dublin quite often, including today. This Dublin, that is. Are you confused yet?



Dublin, Michigan, is in the middle of nowhere, but enough people live surrounding that nowhere to support what has become something of a local phenomenon, and that is Dublin General Store. It's the large building on the right. It has groceries, camping gear, fishing tackle, hardware... everything you would expect of a general store.

Also on the right is Granny's Kitchen, a small restaurant that stays open all year. Across the road is a gas station and a summer only fudge shop. That's it, folks. You've just toured Dublin (except for a few houses).

	See After I've Seen Par-eee
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