Will Snowy Owls make an appearance in our area this year? During the winter of 2012-13 Snowy Owls ranged from far their homes in Canada, some were seen even as far south as Florida. Snowy Owls are one of the few owls that are seen feeding during the daytime. They have already been sighted in Erie, PA by mid-November 2014 so maybe they are headed our way.
This photo by Tom Peel that appeared in the Indiana Gazette shows Dr. Ray Winstead handfeeding a Tufted Titmouse at Blue Spruce Park. Chickadees and Tufted Titmice at the park are very friendly and will often come close to see if you have any treats to offer.
We snapped this photo at Parker Dam State Park on a trip we made to learn more about the harvesting of ice. Before the days of refrigeration ice was harvested from lakes in the winter time by ice harvesters. After scoring the ice and laying out a grid the ice harvesters began sawing the ice into blocks that were transported from the lake and stored in ice houses for use later in the year. The sign that appears in the foreground was placed in the window of a home to let the ice delivery man know how much ice to deliver (25, 50, 75 or 100 pounds). Ice was reportedly harvested from the lake at Blue Spruce Park by local residents in the early 1900s.
