A very cold few days – it never got above zero – the highest temperature I saw was -2. I walked in the afternoons, when the sun was warmest, and didn’t plant at all.
I might have braved the cold and tried to get some planting done, but there was an ice storm last Tuesday, which left a crust on top of the snow. The ice softened a bit in the sun in the afternoons, but I was still worried about my seeds blowing away. The crust made walking interesting – when the temperature was very cold it made an odd squeaking/crunching sound under my shoes, and when little pieces of ice broke off and slid across the ice it sounded like pieces of glass.

On Sunday I walked up through the woods to Stargrass Opening, and then through the meadow to Sumac Prairie. Sumac Prairie was gorgeous – almost all the snow had gone, and the sun beat down so it was almost warm. As I was standing there, two adult bald eagles came sailing over the top of the bluff – I could see the sun shining through the white feathers on their tails. Then a sharp-shinned hawk flew up into a tree, and across the hill in front of me.

The creek is beautiful in the cold, with steam rising from it, and sometimes covering all the surrounding vegetation and the beaver logs with frost.

The stream in Center Valley has finally frozen and is covered with wonderfully complicated ice crystals.

Another walk was up the hill on Willow Road to look for Shrikes in Volvo Meadow. They like to sit on the tops of the small trees and watch for prey. I didn’t see any Shrikes this time, but right at the top, just as I got to the fields, a Golden Eagle flew over my head.

Dan was interested in getting some watercress, so I walked down to the springs to find a good place to collect it. The area right below the spring pond, in front of the old farmhouse is a good spot. The watercress is bright green in the stream, but wherever something sticks up above the water it gets covered with frost crystals.

On the drive back to the city we saw a huge herd of deer in one of the farm fields – I counted 25. Then we turned the corner, and in less than ½ mile we saw two more herds of at least 15 deer each. I hope they stay there rather than at our place. I tried taking a photo – it was taken at dusk so it’s difficult to see, but there really are 25 deer in that field.