It is sooooo cold today ... -12 Celsius but with the wind child -24 Celsius ... a very good day to stay inside.
I filled the bird feeder a week ago, but so far no birds. Where are our feathered friends in this weather? Are they in their nests trying to stay warm?
I know the little creatures do venture out occasionally ... we had a bunny in our garden last week. She got in and then could not find her way out. I watched her for at least an hour, as she ran back and forth making small deposits every few inches, but she could not find the spot in the fence to get out. I was concerned, as she sat looking through the chain link to the ravine, that she would freeze to death if she could not get back to her nest. So finally I opened the door to try to guide her towards the spot in the fence where she could escape, but she was so frightened by my presence that she wiggled her way between our fence and the neighbours. I have thought about her since ... did she get home, did she get stuck somewhere else and freeze? I like to think that she made it back to her warm nest.
Her visit to our garden certainly made it very interesting for our dog Chelsea ever since. She goes out to do her business and then spends the next little while "bunny sniffing". We cleaned up the deposits she left, but Chelsea can still smell her along the back fence in the bushes and loves to spend time back there "bunny sniffing". It's really quite funny to see her looking for what made this delicious scent.
These are what I can see, but what about what I can't. Under the snow, under the ice ... is there living things.?
Come and take an imaginary walk through the ravine with me.
I stop by the creek and peer in ... are the fish sleeping, or are they swimming deep down where the water still flows under the ice. As I continue walking deeper into the forest, I see a break in the snow and look down. Who lives down there? Maybe a raccoon and her family, or a red fox with her family? If I stand still long enough, will you come out to visit?
Let's keep walking. The evergreen tree boughs are hanging so low & dripping with great puffs of snow ..... I hear them groaning under their burden ... how long can you hold on to this snow before you break from the strain? The small branches of the Swamp Willow have had the wintry breath of Jack Frost blow over them and are coated with a cacophony of frosty fingers all over each branch. Amidst all this frosty splendour I can see the odd bunch of red Dogwood which shimmers from within its icy prison. Such beauty takes my breath away.
Although all the plants have lost their foliage, the starkness of each twig, wild grass & tree against the purity of the white snow is breathtaking. The Queen Ann's Lace looks stately as it stands tall and shivers with the breeze, it beautiful gold colour stands out against the white snow.
A little further along, I see some disturbance in the snow .... I walk a little closer, it is deer prints and more than one deer has been here. Could they still be close .... maybe I am not the one who is visiting but am under close scrutiny by all the unseen creatures. They are ensuring I do not disturb their home. I hear a rustling above me and look up to see a red tailed hawk gracefully landing in the upper branches of a large chestnut tree.
Well, my toes and fingers are getting chilly, I think my imaginary journey this morning is over. Let's have a lovely fresh brewed cup of coffee with a dash of cream. Can you smell it brewing? I can. My taste buds are tantalized as I wait for the last drop to fall before I pour my cup.
Delicious!!!
I filled the bird feeder a week ago, but so far no birds. Where are our feathered friends in this weather? Are they in their nests trying to stay warm?
I know the little creatures do venture out occasionally ... we had a bunny in our garden last week. She got in and then could not find her way out. I watched her for at least an hour, as she ran back and forth making small deposits every few inches, but she could not find the spot in the fence to get out. I was concerned, as she sat looking through the chain link to the ravine, that she would freeze to death if she could not get back to her nest. So finally I opened the door to try to guide her towards the spot in the fence where she could escape, but she was so frightened by my presence that she wiggled her way between our fence and the neighbours. I have thought about her since ... did she get home, did she get stuck somewhere else and freeze? I like to think that she made it back to her warm nest.
Her visit to our garden certainly made it very interesting for our dog Chelsea ever since. She goes out to do her business and then spends the next little while "bunny sniffing". We cleaned up the deposits she left, but Chelsea can still smell her along the back fence in the bushes and loves to spend time back there "bunny sniffing". It's really quite funny to see her looking for what made this delicious scent.
These are what I can see, but what about what I can't. Under the snow, under the ice ... is there living things.?
Come and take an imaginary walk through the ravine with me.
I stop by the creek and peer in ... are the fish sleeping, or are they swimming deep down where the water still flows under the ice. As I continue walking deeper into the forest, I see a break in the snow and look down. Who lives down there? Maybe a raccoon and her family, or a red fox with her family? If I stand still long enough, will you come out to visit?
Let's keep walking. The evergreen tree boughs are hanging so low & dripping with great puffs of snow ..... I hear them groaning under their burden ... how long can you hold on to this snow before you break from the strain? The small branches of the Swamp Willow have had the wintry breath of Jack Frost blow over them and are coated with a cacophony of frosty fingers all over each branch. Amidst all this frosty splendour I can see the odd bunch of red Dogwood which shimmers from within its icy prison. Such beauty takes my breath away.
Although all the plants have lost their foliage, the starkness of each twig, wild grass & tree against the purity of the white snow is breathtaking. The Queen Ann's Lace looks stately as it stands tall and shivers with the breeze, it beautiful gold colour stands out against the white snow.
A little further along, I see some disturbance in the snow .... I walk a little closer, it is deer prints and more than one deer has been here. Could they still be close .... maybe I am not the one who is visiting but am under close scrutiny by all the unseen creatures. They are ensuring I do not disturb their home. I hear a rustling above me and look up to see a red tailed hawk gracefully landing in the upper branches of a large chestnut tree.
Well, my toes and fingers are getting chilly, I think my imaginary journey this morning is over. Let's have a lovely fresh brewed cup of coffee with a dash of cream. Can you smell it brewing? I can. My taste buds are tantalized as I wait for the last drop to fall before I pour my cup.
Delicious!!!
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