Do NOT Copy

Do NOT Copy

Winter Visitors

I tend not to spend much time outside in the winter time here, I imagine if you lived up here you'd probably spend most of your time inside too. That means I don't really have much opportunity to see which of my animal neighbors have been visiting me. Of course there are signs of life even among the mounds of snow and piles of ice covering just about anything your eyes land on up here.

What signs of life, you ask? Well, while I don't see sprouts from my bulbs popping out of the ground, buds swelling on tree branches, or anything of that sort yet, I do see animal foot prints in the snow. They show me that not everyone headed south for the winter or went into hibernation mode like me. I do not venture into deep snow piles or anything as the snow would probably spill over the tops of my boots and freeze my poor feet. These pictures were taken in the snow that as most recently fell onto our driveway.

The most obvious visitor to the winter garden is the deer.

They have large footprints and sink deeply into the snow. The cloven hooves give them away, not many animals that live around here have prints like these.

Apparently the path Cheesehead had made for me to access the new compost bin he built me this summer for my birthday was quickly discovered by the deer too. It seems they have used the path much more recently than I have. Conveniently, it goes right by my apple trees. I need to remember to get the soap hung in the trees soon or the deer will start nibbling on them soon.

The bin is easily visible from the driveway. I think it looks good, but once the snow levels decrease and before the ground is no longer frozen, Cheesehead seems to think we need to move it. He doesn't like the fact that it can be seen.


Our next biggest guest is our lovely friend, the rabbit. Their foot prints come in groups of four as they hop their way through the snow. They don't sink as far as the deer do, but you can often find which direction they came from as well as where they headed off to. They aren't quite as noticable as far as the footprints go, but they also leave many other signs that they've been here. Our eaten seedpods which are now buried in the snow drifts along with the extra fertilizers they add to my beds. Those two signs make them the most visible visitor to my yard prior to the next new snowfall.


Our last visitor is a little mouse. It has stayed away from the house more this winter than the last time, but if you look closely you can see their barely discernable footprints in the snow near the shed. I had to adjust the exposure and the brightness of this photo to better highlight the prints in this picture. They are so light they seem not to sink at all even in our loosest of snow.

Thank you for stopping by to chat with me. Please leave me a message, I'd love to hear your thoughts!

Cindy

13 comments:

Rosie Nixon Fluerty said...

Hi there Cinj I have found your blog through Blotanical. Could you tell me alittle more about soap apple trees and deer. Many thanks Rosie :)

Nola said...

Girl, if I lived up there, I'd spend ALL my time indoors! We had single digit temps last week, but today was in the 60's and I spent all afternoon outside.

CiNdEe's GaRdEn said...

Ummm Brrrrr! I bet those animals would like to come in for some hot coffee or something! Poor critters I am cold just looking at that snow!!!
Stay warm!!!

Unknown said...

Hi Rosie, so nice to meet you. I need to make a note to myself to visit blotanical again soon. I hung some Irish spring in my apple trees last winter and the deer never bothered the trees until late winter. I assume the smell wore off and then they visited more often. I decided not to put the soap up in November this year, maybe early February will produce even better results? We shall see...

Nola- Well, there is the small matter of getting mail and groceries, but other than that I only spend time outside if it's 20 or warmer. It hits 60 here in the spring and fall, those are my favorite times of the year temperature wise.

Cindee- Yeah, if you remember a mole came in and tried to visit a couple of times. Was that last year or the year before? I'm afraid I was terribly impolite and forgot to offer it a cup of hot cocoa though. I've read all three library books this week already. Great, not I have to go out in the cold to get some more books. Where's my scarf?

Chris said...

I love seeing the footprints of visitors in the snow. Thanks to your photos I could enjoy them without even having to step outside. However, it has been a little more pleasant lately so I do take a peek out into the yard now and then. Mostly I'm just hidden under a pile of garden catalogs waiting for spring!

tainterturtles said...

One the things I love to do in the winter is take photos of the animals that have visited us via the lake I live on.

So far I've identified deer, otters, a Coyote, squirrels, and fox.

Saw lots of deer dropping today while on the lake ice fishing.

CanadianGardenJoy said...

Hey there Cinj .. You have changed the blog and it is really looking good girl ! .. I haven't ventured out side to see if we have had any rabbits .. usually I see "bunny beans" in the Spring when we do clean up .. so that means some of them have been visiting me : )
I hope the camera gets back to user friendly mode soon girl !
Joy : )

Kathleen said...

You look more frozen then we do in Colorado Cinj. I feel like winter will never end this year ~ it started so early for us (in Oct). Hopefully spring won't be late. Good for you getting out with your camera. The only thing I go out for is to refill the birdfeeders and add water to the birdbath. If it weren't for them, I'd be absolutely stuck indoors! Stay warm.

Unknown said...

Chris- Yeah, on my way to get my daughter from the bus stop Friday afternoon I had taken the pictures intending to put them up as my bloom day post. I took the kids to the pool instead though. It was a pretty nice weekend since the sun came out for a change.

TT- Sounds like you actually get to see your visitors. Funny how living here in the woods I see less animals than I have when driving through town.

Joy- Thanks, I like to change things up once in a while. If nothing else it gives me something else to do. LOL.

Kathleen- Yeah, frozen as solid as a rock, though the warm temps will almost reach freezing today. I may head outside for a few minutes before it gets dark. Our winter actually got off to a a kind of late start this fall so I'm not getting cabin fever just yet. Give me a month or so.

Christine B. said...

I have to force myself to go outside. (Today, actually, because the driveway needs shovelling.) We have no deer in my area but we have their larger cousin the moose and we see his footprints and react with gut relex: Nooooooo! OK, maybe only those gardeners with trees they eat, like me, react like that. I saw a willow blooming yesterday: hooray!

Christine in Alaska

Unknown said...

Christine- Nice to meet you. Moose huh? I imagine they eat even more than the deer to. Oh boy. Spring will be here soon!

Build your own hydroponics system said...

Thanks for the post, we will post your Build your own hydroponics system article. I will post for our customers to see your articles on your blog Build your own hydroponics system

lisa said...

I get lots of critter traffic too, and I do get outside pretty frequently...I really like the cold, though. At least you have some indoor diversions to keep you busy until the weather breaks. Spring's on the way...really! :)