Squirrels tend to bury nuts for the winter and then dig them up in times of need. While the weather is warm, or at least tolerable for foot-long rats with fuzzy tails, they gather up their harvest and then start to stash them in divers places.

However, I'm not sure how well the squirrels might be doing this year with the snow and ice coating the ground for the better part of the past two months now. In fact, I've not seen a squirrel since the fall when they came by to harvest some of the pine cones at the house. There are still plenty of cones, but no squirrels.

Perhaps the cats ate them. I went outside Saturday and saw a smallish woodpecker on the back porch. At least I think it was a woodpecker. It was yellow on the belly and had black spots. As the winter progresses and continues to cover the world in its blanket of white, it seems that the birds are growing more bold in their searches for food. However, while I'm sure they are having some successes, at least a few of them are becoming food themselves.

I wonder sometimes what all the animals are eating this winter. The deer, birds, rabbits, turkeys and other wild animals are surely having a tougher-than-usual time this season.

At least a few of the birds and squirrels are probably making a living off of backyard bird feeders. I usually don't feed the birds, since it seems somewhat like baiting them for the cats, but my mother visited recently and put a few pieces of cereal in hanging planter on the front porch. The planters are in a position that's inaccessible to the felines and the little birds seem to appreciate the free meal very much. I've enjoyed watching them, their tiny beaks working feverishly to break apart the little round pieces of cereal. The ones I see most are tiny, nondescript fellows with white chests and brownish feathers.

I've never been enough of a bird watcher to know one from the other, unless they're edible. I can easily identify a grouse, pheasant, goose, duck or turkey. For the most part the others are filed under the general headings like crows, hawks, owls, songbirds and vultures. As for the missing squirrels, I hope they've hidden a bit of food in a tree somewhere and are holding out for the winter. I'd say they are probably having to run for their lives most of the time if they are out scampering about, all the while digging through 10 inches of hard-packed snow and ice to reach their larder in the frozen earth.

I know exactly how they feel. I had to go out over the weekend and dig out some logs that I had placed on the side of the hill. Other than one that was flipped up on its side, the entire pile was completely invisible, buried in the snow beneath the large pine trees that run along my property line.

Using the maul to loosen the snow and ice that was holding them to the ground, I pulled a dozen of them free. They actually came free quite easily once the top layer of ice was removed. The snow underneath remains surprisingly light in areas that aren't well traveled.

I rolled most down the 50 feet or so of hill that separated the woodpile and the house. I loaded a few onto my daughter's sled and she pulled them down herself. Well, some of them actually pulled her. I'm always impressed with what a hard worker she is.

I've been doing most of my splitting this year with the maul, which hasn't been as much of a problem as I might have thought before trying it. I've actually gotten quite good at it. I can usually split a half cord of wood in under three hours. However, digging it out of the snow and then splitting it takes a bit longer.

I also have a lot of poles piled up that mostly are ready to go into the stove, but they are also covered with a thick layer of snow and ice.

I even split the chopping block last week to keep from digging anything out. It's not like it's a crisis, I was just feeling lazy that day. Besides, I had several more chopping-block sized pieces on the hill above the house.

Actually, I had plenty of wood of all sizes cut and stacked around the house, but the one thing I don't have is a functional woodshed. Therefore, as the snow piles up in the yard, it covers my stockpiles. In past years, it really hasn't been a problem. I have enough room on the porch for exactly one-half cord of wood. I've been burning through that every 10 days or so.

I couldn't have imagined burning through this much wood last year, even though a harsher winter was somewhat expected. Thankfully, it looks like I made enough hay while the sun was shining, even if most of my hay is buried in the snow.
 

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