Who goes there?

Still cold, still snow (lots).  More fell on Tuesday night and the slight thaw in the afternoons hasn't made much difference. 

While the garden itself isn't very visible under all that white stuff, there has been plenty of opportunity to observe the wildlife.  Also where the wildlife has been, through the tracks left in the snow.  Now, here's a conundrum.  This morning there was a very distinctive track on the lawn - four 'steps' each consisting of three prints.  If I saw that on our skiing holiday, I would be in no doubt that it was a hare.  We have hares round here, and rabbits, but I haven't seen either in the garden for years.  I can't think what else would make that sort of print.  The thing is, there's no sign of where the track started, or where the animal went after reaching the path under the dining room window.  I can't see any other similar prints.  Some of the track seems to follow the same path as a track probably made by next door's cat; if the cat came after the hare, I suppose its prints might have obliterated some of the hare's.  But where did it go afterwards?

Another animal moving around the garden is Mr Mole.  The snow, of course, doesn't bother him at all.  He had created a big molehill down near the summerhouse, and followed it up by another, about ten feet away, which I watched being created.  One minute nothing was there, the next there was a pile of earth heaving up from under the snow, getting bigger by the minute.  Of course, once the snow melts he'll know all about it as the water will have to go somewhere - and I suppose he'll be heading for drier ground up near the house again.

The fieldfare

Birds continue to come for food.  I've been putting out old apples for the blackbird, but yesterday they were discovered by a fieldfare which has been feasting on them, when he's not fending off the blackbird (yesterday) and a mistle thrush (today).  The thrush won every time but doesn't have the confidence to spend long on the patio when I'm in sight, so the fieldfare keeps coming back.   Other visitors include two robins (at least tolerating each other's presence, so presumably paired up for the season), a pied wagtail which I haven't seen here for a couple of years, and a wren.  Plenty of tits also, including a great tit which has enjoyed a bath in a bowl of water I put out, and the marsh tit has a mate who was with him the other day.  The jay, sadly, hasn't been back.

Plantlife is mostly under the snow, including most of my pots, which are surrounded or covered by drifts.  That nearest pot (first picture, taken before the second fall of snow) has a heuchera and one of the 'Sour Grapes' penstemons in it - you can just see the foliage peeping out.  Fortunately there are other penstemon plants in the cold frame!  There is a little more colour indoors - some winter jasmine and hazel catkins, cut before the cold snap.  The catkins continue to develop after cutting, starting as little greyish things and turning into fat, long sausages with yellow pollen.

According to the forecast, there's rain coming in late tomorrow and over the weekend, with warmer temperatures.  But tonight the skies are clear, and the temperatures are to tumble even further.  Keep warm!

Cold sunset