Woodpiles and Acorns

On cold winter days, we burn wood in our furnace.  Don always has at least 4 cords of wood stacked as we go into the winter.  A serious cold snap is forecasted for next week, and it appears that, for the first time, we'll go through the entire stack well before the winter's over.  So we spent some time this afternoon adding to the woodpile.  Don felled a dead tree, in exactly the right spot, and he cut it up while I dragged off the excess limbs and stacked wood.  We've been doing this for years, and it feels like good teamwork, with Don as the master woodsman, and me, the woodsman's assistant, both wearing our Danner steel-toed boots.  Next year, we'll have a bigger pile.

We weren't the only ones to be playing catch-up this winter. We don't see squirrels too often on cold snowy days like this, but there was one in the yard today, who thought that he'd put away plenty of acorns for the winter.  This morning he was plowing under the snow for acorns.

He'd emerge, white capped, to eat his acorn, before diving down for the next one.

Next year, he'll have a bigger stash.

Snow Dog 2

Fresh snow covered the ground when we got up this morning, and by about an hour after daylight, it had piled up to a respectable 6", enough to make a snow dog happy.  While Don and I shoveled snow, Barley played chicken with the shovels, then settled down in the middle of the area we were working on to supervise.

That finished, we took a walk, and Barley's joy let loose, as he did wheelies in the snow.

Thin Ice

At the hollow yesterday, the falling creek left thin layers of ice in fanciful formations.

Deep Freeze

Monday afternoon, there were lines at the gas pumps and at the grocery store, as if we lived in the city.  Most everybody in town has been taking the weather predictions seriously ever since our big ice storm 2 years ago.  This time we skated.  A small layer of ice now covers the landscape with a light snow on top.  Most noticeable, however, is the cold.  Even Barley, the snow dog, is happy to get back inside after our brief excursions out of doors.  

Wild creatures have been stocking up, too.  Our regulars, 7 deer and 4 Tom turkeys, are coming around more often, looking for corn, and scores of birds hop and peck around the feeders. Yesterday afternoon 3 pair of mallards dropped into our pond for a little swim. They must have found something good to eat, because their heads kept bobbing under the water while their ruffly backsides tipped straight up in the air.  They were gone before dark, undoubtably on to larger waters that wouldn't freeze overnight.

At the pond this morning, mourning doves flew away as we approached, crying the high pitched trill that signals distress.  I felt like an apology was due for displacing them from their shelter in the willows, but by the time we had rounded the pond, they were already flying back.

The open spaces are mostly vacated on this cold night, and the roost trees, bedding areas, and dens have already filled up.  At dawn, it will start all over again.