We received a bit of snow and as the sun started to set I noticed how it was placing a beautiful pick color on everything. I realized it was time to go out and enjoy the beautiful time of day. Take a walk with me on Mira Mountain.
That's Buffalo mountain in the image above. From the other side it looks similar to a charging buffalo. It has a long history in our area going back to the days when this was considered the wild west. I took this picture before even getting off our deck, but with some zoom.
I love to see the sunsets poking through the woods in front of our home. This was my inspiration for taking a stroll through the snow. Well, this and all the wildlife tracks I spotted. It seems that you never know how much wildlife is around until it snows. Then we notice that almost no places are left untouched. The deer it seems are everywhere everyday!
There used to be an old barn right where our home stands now. We wanted to save it and were even talking to some folks who could help us move it. But it wasn't meant to me as a tree fell on it shortly after we started to prepare for building the house. We were able to save the wood to use building our cabinets and kitchen island.
I love to see this pink looking snow from the sunset. There isn't much daylight left now!
Does the snow really make everything more beautiful or is it just because we don't see it as much and it's a pleasing change for our eyes?
There's that full view of Buffalo Mountain from the deck, although it looks really small in the pictures from my phone. The mountain is also a Natural Area Preserve with a wonderfully maintained walking trail. You can hike to the top in about 45 minutes. As soon as spring breaks, we'll have to hike up there to get some pictures for you. We are pretty proud of that mountain around here. It shows up as a general logo for just about everything. It's even known as the only place in the world where a certain type of mealy bug exists.
Here's some more info if you interested:
Buffalo Mountain is one of the most significant natural areas in Virginia. It boasts an amazing 13 rare plant occurrences, 3 rare animal occurrences, and 6 significant natural communities. The combination of high-elevation (3,971 feet), wind-exposed openings at the summit, and magnesium rich soils make it unlike any place else in the Commonwealth.
On the treeless summit, strong winds and boreal climate support subalpine vegetation including three-toothed cinquefoil (Sibbaldia tridentata) and Rocky Mountain woodsia. The south face of the mountain contains grassy, prairie-like openings composed of wildflowers and native warm-season grasses more typical to the Midwest than to the Commonwealth of Virginia. Wet, magnesium-rich seeps along the base of the mountain support globally rare grasses and wildflowers such as bog bluegrass (Poa paludigena) and large-leaved grass-of-parnassus (Parnassia grandifolia).
Buffalo Mountain is also the only known location in the world for a mealybug called Puto kosztarabi.
Source
I hope you enjoyed this little stroll with me.
