It will freeze like that

Milo

​Moments can be caught with a click. The camera can freeze a point in time. Faster shutter speeds have made for hilarious photos. Animals were pictured with flying ears, wagging tongues and priceless expressions. 

Earl and Milo

​Milo, the goat, has become quite the expert on crazy looks. The tongue action was no doubt testosterone fueled as both Milo and Earl searched for love. The upturned lips and noses were basically signs of bucks in heat. 

Earl

​Their contorted faces made me think of the saying “your face will freeze like that.”

Milo, Earl and Gus

​A search of the internet reported that the saying dated back to the 1800s and may be rooted in folklore. The expression was reportedly used to caution children against making silly faces. It suggested that if a child made a face for too long, it might become stuck that way. There were a couple of variations of the expression. They included, “If the wind changes, you’ll stay like that,” and “If a fly lands on your face, it will stay that way.”

Milo

​With the click of a shutter, the camera froze the goats’ facial expressions that would have been lost to time. Their faces would “stay that way” as long as they were preserved on digital media.

Milo and Earl

​Meanwhile, the camera also nabbed some headbutting action. Poor testosterone fueled Milo and Earl, could have been sensing the female goats across the road. Those does are off limits to them. They turned their frustration on each other.

Milo

Earl

Daily walks were spent chasing and challenging each other. Frozen moments in time made the goats appear to be standing. Other shots netted the goats seemingly flying across the snow or streams. 

Gus

​However, the goats weren’t the only ones creating unique scenes. Flopping Saint Bernard jowls and flying bloodhound ears were frozen in awkward positions. 

Jeb and Clem

​Daily dog battles resulted in very interesting action shots. 

Jeb and Gus

​Sticks pushed up lips and created funny faces. Snow swirled under running paws. 

​Meanwhile, the camera froze water dripping from icicles. A close-up crop of one of the droplets revealed a blurry reflection of trees.
Reflecting on December’s weather, Franklin ended the month with slightly above average precipitation of 3.46 inches compared to the normal of 3.36 inches, according to National Weather Service data from the station at the Venango Regional Airport. According to the data, December was snowier than normal with 15.8 inches compared to the average of 11.7 inches. 

---

Clem and Gus

​It was a little cooler than normal with an average temperature of 35.4 degrees which was below the normal average of 38.1 degrees. The lowest low was 4 degrees on Dec. 9. There wasn’t much competition for that low in recent years, but in 1917 a low of -6 degrees was recorded.

Jeb

​A high temperature of 57 degrees was observed on Dec. 29 and 30, according to the data.

The U.S. Drought Monitor report released on Jan. 22 categorized all of Venango County as abnormally dry with Forest County and parts of Clarion County remaining in the moderate drought slot.
​
The accumulation to date for Dec. 31, 2025, was 41.83 inches which was lower than the normal of 46.33 inches, according to weather service data. 

Milo and Earl

​Meanwhile, a January Facebook post by the National Integrated Drought Information System depicted a graphic that predicted an end to drought conditions in Venango County from January through March 31. 

Earl and Milo

Gus

​While Mother Nature was actively freezing water, the camera was busy freezing moments in time.

​Those included adorably awkward looks. 

​I often used the funny, funky faces for Facebook profile pictures.

If I could get a laugh or chuckle at my animal’s expense it was worth it.

​After all, their survival is at my expense. 

​No animals were harmed during the filming of this project.

Well, Clem’s ear was a little ripped up.

​That’s just the nature of things ‘round here. 

Clem