Winter Is Here

Finally, winter reached Chicago. The blue sky and warm (50 degree) weather days are over. Until January 11, Chicagoans, except children and dogs, enjoyed the early spring like weather. Then, the change came over night.

On January 12, the sky changed into gray, and cold, cold (20 degree) morning we experienced. From the sky, white things were falling down.

The warm blue sky, and the cold gray sky and snow was falling

Officially 4.9 inches snow fall, but some areas were 8 inches.




It was a cold and snowy morning. Instead of walking exercise, we did snow shoveling. The pictures of many children and dogs playing, making a snowman, throwing snowballs, and running around in the snow, were shown on TV.

Squirrels’ nests were found when those pictures were taken.

Can you point out the squirrels’ nests? Hiroko has always been wondering why a squirrel makes their net on the top of the branches. For protecting from the intruder, making many nest to appropriate the temperature.

Hiroko looked for the information in the internet about a squirrel making nest on the tree top.

These photos are borrowed from Google Image.

There are two types of squirrels. One is called the tree-squirrel and other is ground squirrel. According to Art Shomo, the editor of West Virginia Wildlife and a public information specialist stationed in Charleston, there are 365 species of squirrels in seven families.

The special features of the tree squirrel are having a thick bushy big tail, eating seeds, nuts, mushroom and small insects, and keeping the seeds under the ground. They do not hibernate even though they live in the area of cold. They leave their nest in the early morning and look for their food and return to the nest early evening. Hiroko noticed that there are no squirrels after 2 or 3 P.M.

On the other hand, the special feature of the ground squirrel are short tail, grass eating animals, living in the hole digging at the glass or sand plain. Some are living in the high mountain. Many of the ground squirrels hibernate.

Please read the interesting article about squirrels at http://wvdnr.gov.wildlife/magazine/archive/04Winter/clumps_of_leaves.shtm

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Here is interesting story in the Bible, God who created the seasons is controlling the weather.

Mark 4:35-41 Jesus Calms the Storm
35That day when evening came, he said to his disciples, “Let us go over to the other side.” 36Leaving the crowd behind, they took him along, just as he was, in the boat. There were also other boats with him. 37A furious squall came up, and the waves broke over the boat, so that it was nearly swamped. 38Jesus was in the stern, sleeping on a cushion. The disciples woke him and said to him, “Teacher, don’t you care if we drown?”
39He got up, rebuked the wind and said to the waves, “Quiet! Be still!” Then the wind died down and it was completely calm.
40 He said to his disciples, “Why are you so afraid? Do you still have no faith?”
41They were terrified and asked each other, “Who is this? Even the wind and the waves obey him!”

Please leave your comments if you have any questions or your suggestions.