There is no rational explanation for why this part of the lawn is plowed. The car can be parked and then turned around without ever leaving tracks anywhere near here. In past winters we would find this cleared spot covered with the first returning robins. So far this year, we have seen only a single early scout. Dead grass is in sight but the frost is still in this exposed ground. That makes drilling for worms an impossible mission.
Five hungry deer were feeding on the dead grass. When I tried to sneak out of the basement door, deer number five was nearby and it bolted sounding an alarm for the others. Becky took this snap looking out of a window. We were surprised to see the apparent good condition of these deer. The past six weeks have been brutal but these creatures found food.
These arbutus plants made their first appearance just this afternoon. I did shovel the snow from above the cage several days ago. When sunlight finally found its way past the white pine tree growing here, dark green leaves soaked up enough sunlight to melt some of the covering snow. Just seeing these leaves was a real spirit booster. A closer look revealed not one but two flower bud clusters. Formed late last summer, they are ready to open as soon as the weather is settled. By tomorrow even more of these arbutus plants will be visible. Despite yesterday's new snowfall, we are now headed toward early flowers.
2 comments:
Definitely so glad to see some life under all that snow! I haven't seen any deer in my yard. I've worried about them here, as we've had so many blizzards and the snow was so high. One of my friends has seen some eating her rhododendron, so at least some have survived. It's definitely been a tough couple of months for the wildlife.
Deer are out here and losing their winter coat...but we are still 99% covered with a foot of snow. You are showing much more green which is nice.
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