Finally a decent amount of snow fell overnight and this morning, a good six inches of dry fluffy snow.
It takes a lot of snowflakes to bend the sturdy pine and fir branches.
The tree branches hold snow until there is just one snowflake too many, and then they bend a bit more and release a cloud of snow. Dan got to experience that first hand today when he was plowing the driveway. I was snug inside the house and didn’t get to laugh, err watch him when he became inundated. I could just imagine it because many is the time I’ve helped a branch release a fluffy cloud of flakes on Dan’s head.
The tallest and darkest tree down the hill from our house, about the middle of the picture, has been a popular perching tree.
Yesterday we had an adult Golden Eagle perching at the top of the tree described above. And today an adult Goshawk occupied the same branch. Opal has a birds-eye view of that tree from her windows and she told us about both birds. She chased Mishkin from the living room yesterday when the eagle was around. She can get very loud. He left the room with both ears folded back and a funny look on his face.
Our outside bird flock was very happy to have seeds and suet today, and it was a regular party in our front yard.
Dan shoveled the sidewalks and ran the snowplow. It was supposed to get warmer today than it actually reached. He took care of the important things first, refilling the feeders and putting up a block of suet, or he'd have never made it to the snowplow.
Once the Goshawk made its appearance, the ravenous flock of Clark’s Nutcrackers all left the vicinity. And as a result, this afternoon as the sun is going down there is still suet on the suet tree. All the birds take the presence of this top predator very seriously. Tomorrow they will have forgotten and there will be plenty to eat as soon as the sun comes up.
Hard at work dreaming of catching something, anything. A toy, a mouse, a toy mouse. He spent all morning looking out of the windows and wishing he could get outside and play. He wouldn't actually like the snow but he has never set paw in the snow so he remains clueless about it.