A Nice Warm-up and Melt-down

   It has risen above freezing for the last several days, and is likely to continue doing so for several more.  Might even hit 50 degrees tomorrow.  It is hard to walk around the yard, as the snow has become wet and soft, but it is still deep in most places.  The paths we use frequently are beaten down so we can walk on top of them, but every now and then you break through and sink down to the ground.  Yesterday I lost a boot in the snow while checking out the creek. 

It has been beautifully sunny and gentle.  We even went out for a bike ride Saturday.  The buds are swelling on the lilacs and a few other bushes, and the creek is beginning to flow a little. 

Rabbit damage continues to grow.  The Bridal Wreath Spirea will likely have to be cut back to the ground in spring, so there may not be flowers this year.  It will be fine, though in the long run.  The Cooper's Hawk is around daily, but seems not to be reducing the number of rabbits or squirrels much. 

There are so many finches and chickadees and juncos around the feeders that it sometimes seems to be just churning with life. 

Somehow Things Survive

It has been a harsh winter so far.  Almost the all time highest snowfall for any month ever fell in December.  If we get just "average" snowfall for the rest of the season we will have the third highest annual snowfall in recorded history.  The bird feeders are emptied in very short time, and Bill fills them regularly.  I even did it once this week, as they were more depleted than normal by Thursday and there is severely cold weather coming. 

I find it interesting that no one seems to have much interest in the brightly colored berries of the Viburnum bushes that are so plentiful along the creek.  These bushes are often billed as having berries that are tempting to birds.  But obviously not all that tempting when compared to fresh sunflower and thistle seeds. 

In the morning, the birds generally come to the feeders in d roves just after sunrise on days when the temperature is above 10 degrees or so.  Huge numbers of goldfinches, lots of house finches, chickadees and juncos, 5 or 10 mourning doves, and two pairs of cardinals are the regulars.  Some sparrows are also around, and there could be others I'm not picking out.  Occasionally a small woodpecker makes its way up the honey locust tree nearby.

Rabbits and squirrels are plentiful also.  There are many tracks and trails through the yard, mainly running from the willow/ash edge to the "bird" feeders and back.  Evidence that I should have protected some of the shrubs is clear.  Maybe I'll try to get out and do that this weekend, though it could be too late to save the "Burning Bush" Euonymous near the feeders. 

Rabbit Highway

It seems that at least one rabbit has a regular route along the edge of the creekside willows and into the neighbor's woods. This is only about 24 hours after the last snow, and already there is a well worn path. In some years past we have had a Great Horned Owl watching over the yard and neighborhood, and that has kept the rabbit population low. But I haven't seen the owl for a couple of years, and the number of rabbits has been increasing.

This is a beautiful sunny New Year's Day. The snow is getting deeper and the yard is getting whiter. I had to go out and knock snow off of many of the evergreens this afternoon, as they were being split and weighed down. It was a beautiful day to be out doing that though.