The snow is mostly gone now and the yard looks like the beginning April, not the end of January! This is so weird. Some snow remnants remain on shaded north facing slopes under trees, or where piled up by snow plows or a shovel.
The garden has no snow left at all!! We just hope that it doesn’t get really cold at some point in February with no snow cover. Some of the strawberry plants will not be amused.
We can go take a walk now on our other property. The ground is still very frozen so it will be easy to move around. Maybe we’ll be that energetic today and get over there. Might bake something instead. I’ve been doing a lot of that lately.
It’s been an easy year for the deer! The ones we see frolicking through the yard aren’t looking the least bit skinny.
They were doing the old “I’m taller than you are” routine before I went out on the porch to take their picture. I was apparently more interesting and they all watched to see if I might do something important, like giving them seeds. That didn’t happen, and they’re back to chasing each other in a circle and one is hopping up and down trying to kick his compatriot. The one being kicked-at isn’t terribly impressed. We may see some tail fanning any moment now.
These little guys are such fierce predators. Between the Sharp-shinned Hawk, Merlin, and Pygmy Owl, our chickadees, nuthatches and sparrows have to pay attention.
We need to get out to the garden and snip off the tops of the asparagus plants pretty soon. Those spears should be coming up any day now. And we’ll look for signs of life in the rhubarb plant. We’re afraid it didn’t get anywhere near the water it needed last year, and is probably deceased. Boo.
Spring!