Snow? Bugs? Snow? Bugs?

I got spared the brunt of the storm.  From the time the first snowflakes started falling until noon today when they finally stopped, I got only about 8 inches of snow. 

That was enough. It was a challenge to toss the snow to the top of the snow banks; not only because of how high they were but also because of the gusty wind.  

I did find the path to the outdoor fire pit.  Once the picnic table and the pit were dug out, it looked rather cozy.  The sun was shining and was extra warm where I sat on the bench.  The high banks sheltered me from the wind and made for a lovely break.

My granddaughters playhouse is looking more like an igloo than a playhouse today.

I monitored the feeder for 20 minutes yesterday at the height of the storm and counted the number of visits there were to the tray feeder.  There were 30 chickadee visits, 3 downy woodpecker visits, 1 hairy woodpecker visit and and 1 redpoll visit.  



There was not as much action today but I managed to get a great photo of a hairy woodpecker and a blue jay visiting the tray feeder at the same time.  Bonus!

I love winter and snow but even I was thinking enough already as I shoveled this morning.  The thought lasted only as long as it took me to remember that the bugs would appear once the snow was gone.  I can live with lots of snow before I can live with pesky, blood-sucking bugs.