stark in the snowstorm

stark in the snowstorm,

bare black trees, black Angus cows --

the world in black and white

It looks like I took these photographs with black and white film, but that's the way the world looks, white snow, black trees and cows. It's been snowing continuously for three day, sometimes light, sometimes heavy. Temperatures have been wavering a few degrees above and below freezing, so the snow melts during the day, then piles up at night.
          The Black Angus have been hovering around the big round bales the farmer trucks in, pulling the hay down to eat and then sleeping in the dry grass that fall to the ground. About a month ago there were a dozen adult cattle in this little pasture. Overnight half of them seemed to shrink in size. I guess the farmer somehow traded adults for calves. Mighty cold for the poor babies trying to nurse in a snowstorm. 
          Four Canada Geese were standing on the ice on Osage Pond, but the moment I stopped the car, they flew off, only to land with the rest of the flock feeding in the corn field east of the cattle. You can see one of them flying above the cows in the bottom photograph. Later, several long lines of wild geese flew over, snow and wind pushing them west.