The Winter Just Keeps on Going

One week after the next the snow just keeps piling up, and although I am grateful for the clean cover, I know that the rabbit and vole damage, and the broken plants lie just below the surface.  It is beautiful again, with the recent 6 inches of snow that fell on Thursday.  But the temps are cold again and it seems like winter.  We're thinking about what we will do with the pond in the spring, and I just looked up and found that the pond water unfroze last year on April 5th.  That is only a month away, but it seems impossible that such a thing would happen this year.  Once the snow and frost does clear, we have to move away all of the rocks and stones from the perimeter of the current pond and then I have to keep an eye out for the emergence of any and all plants around the area.  They will each have to be dug and moved or saved to be replanted.  I am concerned about the ligularia that is just behind the gargoyle.  I have heard that the roots of ligularia grow very deep, and I don't know if I'll be able to transplant it - almost certainly it will be set back.  With luck, it will be dividable and I can plant the divisions in places where they will thrive.  As the yard grows, there is more shade, and some of the plants that were originally put in sunny spots may well do better elsewhere.

The photo I'm posting today is a view from inside the house during the latest storm - last Thursday.  The contrast is interesting to me.  Snow re-covering the yew outside and the German ivy thriving in the kitchen window inside. 

Spring Signs

 

 

They are beginning to add up.

 

• The birds are noisier.
  
• The ducks are jostling for space on the creek, which is flowing.
  
• There are bare patches where old grass is showing through.
  
• Birch catkins are beginning to swell.
  
• Some of the trees are thickening with swollen buds.
  
• The light lasts longer.

There is hope. And some views I can't get enough of. (Though I do prefer some times of year over others...)

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. 

It Just Stays Cold and White

Winter seems to have such a stranglehold on the area this year.  We haven't really even had a significant meltoff in over a month and a half, and they say January is the coldest we've seen in quite some time.  It was below zero again this morning, even though yesterday it got up into the 20's and I was able to scrape the inch of ice off of most of the driveway finally. 

Rabbit damage is terrible - some things will be chewed down to the ground.  The little Weigala that is planted near the gazebo is just a couple of stems now - now sure how long that will take to come back.  Seems like we will have to start putting more protection in place in the late fall from  now on if there's going to be this much snow every year. 

The rabbit and squirrel "highways" are deepening, since we haven't gotten a lot of  new snow in the last several weeks.  You can really see their routes.   I also found a bit of the nesting material that had fallen from a squirrel nest that's up in the willow tree.  I imagine they will manage to stay warm anyway - probably will cut more stuff from my plants.

Wednesday night I heard the sump pump downstairs run for the first time in quite awhile, and I feared that it wouldn't make it out to the creek.  But yesterday I walked over to the outlet and found that it was, indeed, still open.  That will be good if ever things really do start to melt.  And since I was out, I took a few more shots of things that are still beautiful  The colors are a bit monotonous this time of year, but some form and structure still survives.  

 

Birds are Everywhere

Walking out on the deck today I was instantly in the midst of an overwhelming cacophony of birds.  Finches and Chickadees and Juncos and Cardinals, Crows and Mourning Doves and a couple of Sparrows.  They were everywhere.  Flying in and out of the Arbor Vitae (White Cedar) shrubs and trees, consuming almost all of the birdseed in our feeders and the neighbor's, coming often to the heated water dish we put out for them. 

During the cold weather that we have been having lately, the water dish couldn't keep the water unfrozen over night.  It did manage to melt a couple of small holes in the middle of the day, and the birds appreciated it.  Our new cat Grace had a very hard time controlling herself while watching them.  She gets very excited looking out of the windows, though she never really makes a break for an open door.  Pretty sure she was an indoor cat who must have either escaped or been abandoned before we found her. 

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. 

Ice is not Nice

My retirement party was Saturday evening, and my Dad and my sisters and their husbands drove to Appleton to share the lovely party with me.  The weather was mild that afternoon, but there were threats of freezing rain and I was afraid that they would have a bad drive home.  As we left the party, the parking lot was slippery and covered with ice.  Didn't look good.  The Green Bay group decided to head for home right away, and it was tough going but they made it home safely.

Nancy and David came back to our house, and we checked weat her.com and tried out the new 511 phone line for travel and road information.  It seemed as though things were likely to degenerate overnight, and so they set out for Chicago, leaving around 7:45 PM.  We heard from them around 10:00 as they were passing through Milwaukee area, and things were wet but not slippery.  They got home safely about 11:30.  

The next morning was proof of the wisdom of both groups, as we awoke to about 1/2 inch of ice covering just about everything.  It is beautiful, but persistent.  Certainly did in the skiing weekend at Bubolz. 

The tips of the Willow and the Ash trees along the creek were covered with ice at sunset on Sunday.  They were beautiful, with the half moon overhead.  And the sheen of the ice on the smooth yards full of snow is also pretty, though it does make everything harder to do.  Seems like it must be the heart of winter in Wisconsin. 

What a time to retire....