Fairview Ridge:
We woke to gently falling light snow quietly covering the hard ice and the bare ground in the apple orchard and flower gardens. The new snow filled us with a happy satisfaction as it made a blanket for all the plants we hope will come back in the spring. We had been fretting the lack of cover and now we could relax at least for a while.
In the early gray landscape a dark presence loomed atop one of the apple trees. Dan declared it a gray owl since it had no horns. Because they are night creatures we rarely see owls although we sometimes hear their early morning hoots but today the snow has kept the light low and the strangeness of such a blotch in the orchard made him stand out. After awhile he swooped to the tall cottonwood at the edge of the bluff perhaps to get a better view of his prey. We were unconcerned. Normally we would be running out to shepherd the chickens into the coop but their unwillingness to venture out on this snowy morning and get their feet wet kept them safe.
Later in the morning as the snow piled up the same cottonwood filled with a flock of bohemian wax wings. The busy birds spread themselves among the trees and bushes that still carried fruit left on in the fall. It makes a nice winter feed lot for the flocks that venture through. We enjoyed our lunch watching the bohemians feeding in the garden and the chickadees flitting in and out of the feeders on the deck all seemingly more animated in the stillness of the snowy day.
At the end of the day there were three to four inches of snow with more to come tomorrow. Good news. Winter in Alaska isn't fun without snow.