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Early today there was a sort of mini snowstorm and then , very quickly things cleared up. The sky cleared, the sun came out and I had to search for this little sign that it really had snowed.

I saw that a thin skin of ice had formed over the pond. Sun or not, it wasn’t melting. The sky was wonderful, complex full of moving clouds. The sun was slanting and the light through the bare branches magnificent.

who came down to take his share of the seeds I had brought for the chickadees. He sat on my hand and ate many seeds while the small birds, quite angry it seemed, fluttered around or landed on my boot, my sleeve or flew around my head. This is the first time such a bird came to eat from my hand. Then further along the path the same thing happened. The little birds came, took one seed at a time, never tolerated another bird sitting on my hand at the same moment and fluttered off to a nearby branch. And then, surprise! Here came another red- headed woodpecker. He too was rather greedy and wouldn’t give way for the little ones. I was reduced to throwing a handful of seeds down for the little chickadees.

At one moment in these adventures a young boy of about ten came along with his mother. I offered his some seeds so the birds would sit on his hand too. I was very happy to see that his mother had her own little box of birdseed for just such an opportunity. I was very happy to cede my spot and watch the child stand with his hand extended as the birds fluttered down.

When I came home the sky was still beautiful but within half an hour another snow squall had descended and now the grass is quite white. Too dark at five o’clock for a picture. we are in snow season now, though