Hi Folks,
To anybody that happens to actually be following my blog, let me apologise for the relative lack of posts over the last week or so. I had lots of various chores to work up around here, and there were, as is becoming usual, some health issues. My basic plan is to add one good sized post and a couple of short chatty posts per week. If anybody comments, I will reply, of course, if it seems I should.
After a bit of cold weather in early January, it appears that around here we are having an extended early spring. We seem to be in a weather pattern having bright days with a high of about 40F (5 C) and a low of about 20 F (-6 C). This pattern is far different than what it used to be at this time of year. The highs are typically 40 deg F warmer than in the bad old days. And our snow cover mostly isn’t. We have scattered skiffs of crusty snow, but there is a lot of barren ground.
Such a weather pattern is not good for our local vegetation – trees transpire away their moisture, but the ground remains frozen so they can’t replenish what is lost, and as a result, there is a lot of winter kill. Also our snow cover is damnably low, which will give us a drought come summer. But… I’ve got to say, even with all the negatives, I can do without the blistering cold. Now, we certainly can – and probably will – get some very cold periods before the definitive spring sets in, but the longer it stays the present version of nice, the better I will like it.
With the nice weather, we have been having a herd of furry birds hanging around eating the seed I put out for birds. There is little forage for these animals, and I am quite worried about their survival. About 15 years ago, we had a yearling fawn die of starvation in one of our flower beds, and that was a really sad thing to watch. By the time she showed up in our yard she was too far gone for me to do anything except provide a quiet environment for her. And then I had to dispose of the body. She was less than half the normal weight for that time of year.
So far this year, though… so good.
Mom naps with her two kids, last year’s fawns, all resting by evergreens in our back yard. This doe has distinctive markings, and I have photographs of her in our yard since 2002, when she was a half grown fawn.
Have a good one, if you can.
More later,
Cheers, Ron
