Another snow day - it's getting deep!

I've been deer watching. We seldom see the deer in the summer. The larger wetland (+800 acres), of which our 16 acres is a part, is a winter yard for them. When summer comes they take off. All summer I only saw one deer, and no fawns. The year of the summer drought (2012), they were at my hostas, but not last year as there was plenty in the forest and wetland for them to chew on.

This winter, they've been nibbling on my lilacs, as well as the small sumacs in the backyard. I call them my grounds crew. What helps is the base of snow, and they can reach higher.

The day before yesterday, the sun was lovely. Daisy and I stacked some wood, bringing it from the shed to beside the house. Tromping through the snow is a challenge, but it was good exercise. Yesterday, we had about 10 cm (4") of snow.  More good exercise shovelling. Yes, that's it. Gotta put a positive bent on it! You can see how deep the deer are, up to their elbows!

By the end of a lovely sunny day, which felt like spring, Bambi was sitting beside my bench. Daisy was in the sun beside her tree. Daisy loves her backyard!

Yesterday, the snow kept falling. The deer spent most of the day in our yard. First in the front yard, then in the back, and back to the front, while the snow fell all day. They would hunker down, having dug out a nest in the deep snow with their hooves, they nestle down for a rest, chewing their cud, and keeping a watch out for predators. I went out the front door, to try to capture some photos, and they took off again. I am amazed with their height, grace and speed!

Then, there are the delightful birds. An American tree sparrow, in the falling snow.