We continue to have cold winter weather (and yes, I do need the "cold" modifier for "winter". It's colder than normal this year.) but the critters are still out and about. The juncos provided entertainment around the bird feeder with large numbers of them hopping and flitting around on the ground and in the air. For variety, a few other birds like cardinals, titmouses, wrens, and nuthatches frequented the feeders also. And to break things up, a squirrel dashed by then and again.
I hadn't been to the "lower forty" for a couple of weeks, so I bundled up and took a walk around to see what I could see. The ground was covered with crunchy snow that wasn't too deep anymore. The crunch of the snow was almost as satisfying as the crunch of the fall leaves. And to be honest, I didn't see too much because I didn't spend much time looking. I spent more time paying attention to the cold and the wind than I did other things. However, there was a standout among everything else--deer tracks. They were everywhere. I know we have deer in the area, but I didn't realize how much they traverse every part of the yard until I saw their tracks.
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| Although we haven't had much snow this last week, we haven't had much sunshine either. |
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| The deer tracks pretty much crisscrossed the entire backyard. |
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| The cows were closer together than normal. I assume to keep warm. |
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| Dark-eyed Junco |
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| Female Cardinal and Junco |
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| Tufted Titmouse |
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| Female Downy Woodpecker |
