Amaryllis in Winter

 

We have two huge amaryllis plants that we grew all during the Summer and that bloomed near the end of the Summer. Conventional wisdom dictated that we give the bulbs a rest in the summer and let them dry out in a dark place so they would bloom in the winter. We kept watering them all summer and were rewarded with huge blossoms. We brought them in the house in the Fall and continued to water them but quit watering them for about a month in November-December. By this time, they both had lost all their leaves but shortly after we started watering them again, they began to grow and both bloomed profusely in January. Quite a treat. I also gave them a little general-purpose fertilizer in December. We aren't sure how long they will last. They have grown so large they probably need to be repotted. The lesson here is don't always believe conventional wisdom. 

Sun Dog

 

I got a call from one of my daughters who told me to go outside and look at the sun dog. This turned out to be one of the brightest and most distinctive sun dogs I had ever seen. Most people are not aware of this phenomenon but it is not uncommon. What is uncommon is to have the sun dog almost as bright as the sun itself. If you don't know about sun dogs see the following Wikipedia article, "Sun dog." Here is a quote from the article.

Sun dogs are commonly caused by the refraction and scattering of light from plate-shaped hexagonal ice crystals either suspended in high and cold cirrus or cirrostratus clouds, or drifting in freezing moist air at low levels as diamond dust. The crystals act as prisms, bending the light rays passing through them with a minimum deflection of 22°. As the crystals gently float downwards with their large hexagonal faces almost horizontal, sunlight is refracted horizontally, and sun dogs are seen to the left and right of the Sun. Larger plates wobble more, and thus produce taller sundogs.

Sun dogs are red-colored at the side nearest the Sun; farther out the colors grade through oranges to blue. The colors overlap considerably and are muted, never pure or saturated.[4] The colors of the sun dog finally merge into the white of the parhelic circle (if the latter is visible).

The same plate-shaped ice crystals that cause sun dogs are also responsible for the colorful circumzenithal arc, meaning that these two types of halo tend to co-occur. The latter is often missed by viewers, since it is located more or less directly overhead. Another halo variety often seen together with sun dogs is the 22° halo, which forms a ring at roughly the same angular distance from the sun as the sun dogs, thus appearing to interconnect them. As the Sun rises higher, the rays passing through the plate crystals are increasingly skewed from the horizontal plane, causing their angle of deviation to increase and the sun dogs to move farther from the 22° halo, while staying at the same elevation.

It is possible to predict the forms of sun dogs as would be seen on other planets and moons. Mars might have sun dogs formed by both water-ice and CO2-ice. On the gas giant planets—Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune—other crystals form clouds of ammonia, methane, and other substances that can produce halos with four or more sun dogs.

By the way, the sun is on the left.  

Funeral?

 One of the things that you do when you have been a genealogist for most of your life is to visit cemeteries. We have been walking recently in the Provo City Cemetery in Provo, Utah visiting a few of the grave markers of my relatives and using this quiet place to exercise. I ran across this sign and could not resist taking a photo. 

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Hollyhocks

 

From Wikipedia: Alcea, 

Hollyhocks are annual, biennial, or perennial plants usually taking an erect, unbranched form. The herbage usually has a coating of star-shaped hairs. The leaf blades are often lobed or toothed, and are borne on long petioles. The flowers may be solitary or arranged in fascicles or racemes. The notched petals are usually over three centimeters wide and may be pink, white, purple, or yellow. The fruit is a schizocarp, a dry disc divided into over 15 sections that contain seeds.

 

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Remembering Flowers in Winter

 

As I sit here looking out the window at snow on the ground, I remember the flowers of spring and summer. The whole issue actually comes from the fact that I lived most of my life in the low desert of Arizona and now live 5000 feet up the side of a mountain in Utah. We always had flowers in the desert. In fact, Winter was when the summer flowers bloomed in the world outside of the desert Southwest. This lovely water lily reminds me that there are places where it is warm. 

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Koi

 Here is a description of these fish from Wikipedia Koi:

Koi (鯉, English: /ˈkɔɪ/, Japanese: [koꜜi]) or more specifically nishikigoi (錦鯉, [ɲiɕi̥kiꜜɡoi], literally "brocaded carp"), are colored varieties of the Amur carp (Cyprinus rubrofuscus) that are kept for decorative purposes in outdoor koi ponds or water gardens.

Koi is an informal name for the colored variants of C. rubrofuscus kept for ornamental purposes. There are many varieties of ornamental koi, originating from breeding that began in Niigata, Japan in the early 19th century. Several varieties are recognized by the Japanese, distinguished by coloration, patterning, and scalation. Some of the major colors are white, black, red, orange, yellow, blue, and cream. The most popular category of koi is the Gosanke, which is made up of the Kohaku, Taisho Sanshoku, and Showa Sanshoku varieties.

Gold on Quartz

 Gold is commonly found in association with quartz. However, large gold nuggets such as this one are exceedingly rare. At the time of this post, gold was selling for $1,855.62 an ounce. Historically, the official U.S. Government gold price changed only four times from 1792 to the present. Starting at $19.75 per troy ounce, raised to $20.67 in 1834, and $35 in 1934. In 1972, the price was raised to $38 and then to $42.22 in 1973. Since 1968, the price of gold has been free to fluctuate. 

Oxen

 

You might be surprised by this explanation about oxen from Wikipedia: Ox.

An ox (plural oxen), also known as a bullock in Australia and India, is a bovine trained as a draft animal. Oxen are commonly castrated adult male cattle; castration makes the animals easier to control. Cows (adult females) or bulls (intact males) may also be used in some areas.

Oxen are used for plowing, for transport (pulling carts, hauling wagons and even riding), for threshing grain by trampling, and for powering machines that grind grain or supply irrigation among other purposes. Oxen may be also used to skid logs in forests, particularly in low-impact, select-cut logging.

Oxen are usually yoked in pairs. Light work such as carting household items on good roads might require just one pair, while for heavier work, further pairs would be added as necessary. A team used for a heavy load over difficult ground might exceed nine or ten pairs.

In short, usually, an ox is a cow or more specifically a steer.  There is no specific animal that is an ox. 

Detail from Fantasy Canyon, Utah

 

Fantasy Canyon in eastern Utah defines what are usually referred to as unusual rock formations. Granted these are relatively soft rocks but I have yet to see anyplace with a greater variety of shapes. In the image, you can see a faint footpath from the bottom of the photo going up the slope. if you look closely there are also a few very small plants but the whole view is dominated by the rocks. 

Feral Cat at Utah Lake

 

I am not sure if taking a photo of a feral cat constitutes being a wildlife photographer but these cats are certainly alive and wild. This photo was taken along the Utah Lake Shoreline Trail. The closest houses are about a mile away. We see feral cats all the time along the trail. I like the pattern of the trees also. 

Exceptional Drought

 

We are in the middle of an Exceptional Drought. This photo shows part of the Wasatch Front in Utah in January. Normally, there would be lots of snow on the mountains. This is what is usually looks like in the early Spring. Dryland crops are struggling. Water for cattle is limited. Soil moisture is low and winter wheat germination is poor. Fire danger increases and fire bans will be implemented. Native vegetation is stressed and in some cases dying. Fire restrictions increase and irrigation water allotments are cut. Eventually, water rationing will inevitably begin. It may not make the news, but this is about as serious as it gets. 

A Feral Cat

 

There are several feral cats that live in and around Provo, Utah. We see them in the National Forest and wooded areas near our home. This one was sunning itself on a cold day in January on the side of the Utah Lake Trail. It didn't seem to mind my taking its photograph. In the past, we have seen people throw cat food out on the trail. I am not sure that is a good idea. I am guessing that there are more rats and mice than there are cats to eat them. 

1932-1939 Farmall Tractor F-20 (Regular)

 Quoting from Hemmings.com:

In 1932, the Farmall, which came to be known as the Farmall Regular, was updated and renamed the F-20, adopting the company's new numbered nomenclature. The engine in the F-20 received a displacement boost, giving operators about 15 percent more horsepower to work with, while the tractor's length was stretched from 123 inches to 140 inches. A four-speed transmission replaced the Farmall Regular's three-speed, and the belt-pulley speed was dropped from 690 rpm to 650 rpm.The F-20 was designed to pull a 14-inch two-bottom plow, and was rated to plow seven acres in a 10-hour day. Regular and narrow versions of the F-20 were also offered, each with two optional rear wheel treads.

This particular tractor was located at the Frying Pan Farm Park in Herndon, Virginia.  

Clouds on the Peak

 Although this appears to be a mountain peak, it is really just a rise in a long mountain slope that has been cut off by the canyon. From this location at the mouth of Rock Canyon, it appears to be a peak. But from a distance taken across Utah Valley, it basically disappears and is certainly not a recognizable landmark. There is an ongoing controversy about the names of physical features on the landscape. Many of these names were applied when the public sense of political and social correctness was not nearly so heavy-handed as it is now. I am certainly in favor of changing the names of geographic features and even manmade places that reflect prejudice and are derogatory to any group of people whether racially motivated or merely rude and inappropriate, but I also think that every rock on the face of the earth does not need its own special name. This "peak" however is grossly inappropriately named and a new designation for this rock formation at the mouth of Rock Canyon is long overdue.  Here is a view of the same canyon from across the valley. See if you can find this "peak."

Wasatch Front in Utah Valley

In case you are lost, here is the same photo with an arrow pointing to the mouth of Rock Canyon. 

A Racing Horse

 

It is really interesting what you can see if you are looking at the world of details. This horse was on the Frying Pan Farm Park in Herndon, Virginia. It is one of the thousands of places I have visited over the years. I understand that the Merry-go-round has been restored and looks a lit nicer now but the original is impressive. Old is not necessarily bad. 

George Washington and Benjamin Franklin

 

These busts of George Washington and Benjamin Franklin are in the U.S. Naval Academy Museum in Annapolis, Maryland. In these times of trial, perhaps we should all go back and remember our historical roots. I appreciate the times I have had to visit Annapolis and the entire Washington, D.C. area. I am appalled by the events of January 6th, 2021, and remember my pleasant visits to our national shrines including the U.S. Capitol Building. 

Early Winter Sunset

 

We have had a winter beginning without any significant snow. Utah, as an entire state, is in drought with most of the state in an Exceptional Drought condition. Here is the latest Drought Monitor. 

https://droughtmonitor.unl.edu/CurrentMap/StateDroughtMonitor.aspx?UT

We have a lot of other concerns but a prolonged, serious drought will become one of the more important disasters in a year of disasters. 

The Federal Triangle, Washington, DC

 

The Federal Triangle is just north of the Smithsonian National Museum of American History on 12th Street NW. It is usually a very busy location with a major Metro Station down the escalator right around this impressive open hallway. During the year we spent in Annapolis, Maryland digitizing records at the Maryland State Archives for FamilySearch.org and The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, we spent our Saturdays and some holidays downtown in Washington, D.C. 

Waiting for Spring

 

The ranchers and farmers in Utah seem to abandon their old frame equipment where it was last parked. This old plow is right out in the open next to a well-traveled trail. I love to take photos of old equipment and sometimes I can identify the original manufacturer. In this case, I didn't take a detour and look to see if there was any identifying information on this relic.