What a great day!  For some reason I woke at 4am this morning so by 9am I had all the laundry done, the majority of the housework complete, the driveway shoveled, the deck swept off, the bird feeders filled and all the dishes washed.  

As I sat at the kitchen table drinking my second cup of coffee for the day, I glanced to the back of the yard.  A white tail deer was helping herself to the sunflower seeds in a feeder.  When I got home from work yesterday, I noticed some deer tracks in the yard.  I also noticed the feeders were empty.  After some investigation, I put two and two together.  Bambi made her way from feeder to feeder, emptying each one.  This morning she was back for more.

I was hoping that she would stay put long enough that I could get a couple of photos.  Not only did I get the photos, but she wandered to each feeding site, emptying all of them so I got many photos.  When she finished the seeds, she did a little pruning as well.  I won't have to trim the dogwoods in the spring; that is if she leaves me some branches.

It was great entertainment for me, watching the deer meander through the yard.  She had a difficult time trying to reach the higher feeders so had to stretch her neck up and use her tongue to try and retrieve the seeds.

The chickadees swooped in, trying to get at the seeds but swooped out quickly when they noticed the deer.  She stayed in my yard for about 30 minutes.

During the time that I was at the window watching her, a pileated woodpecker decided to visit as well.  I couldn't decide if I should keep photographing the deer or try and get a few shots of the bird.  I ended up with 3 of the woodpecker and about 40 of the deer!  I filled the feeders again and am hoping that she will return.  If she does, I'll drive into town tomorrow to purchase a bag of deer feed so she leaves my bird feed alone.

The woodpecker came back for a second visit later in the afternoon.  It landed on a decaying tree trunk that was close to my patio door.  What fun it was to watch while it searched for food beneath the bark.

There were snowflurries all day today.  There is another heavy snowfall warning for overnight.  I was hoping for the fluffy flakes during a snowshoe outing today but that didn't happen.  The tree branches were holding 'snow puffs' in all the crooks from the last big storm.  There was only one hardy soul that had walked the trail ahead of us so there was a nice fluffy blanket that we trudged through.

I still have two days off and I plan on making them outdoor days.  Fresh snow and decent temperatures will make for an extended stay outside.  With any luck Bambi will be back before I leave.  My camera will be ready for tomorrow's adventures.