What a difference a few days make.  It went from having to plug in the vehicle overnight to melting in a matter of days.  The hoar frost crystals and all the snow melted; leaving only patches of water covered packed snow which eventually froze over again.  The fresh snow on top of that made for some treacherous walking conditions.  The light rain shower that came over before things froze up added a nice icy glaze to the deck boards.

Big lazy snowflakes fell all day today.  The tree branches are covered again and there's almost enough snow for some x-country skiing.  We had the little people skis out this afternoon for the first time this season.  It was a little slippery in patches but fun none the less.

When we went inside to warm up, as we sat at the kitchen table, the birds entertained us.  A pileated woodpecker landed on the deck railing.  It moved its head from side to side, watching us through the window.  A number of moments passed before it hopped down from the railing to begin the excavating on the peanut bell.  

The bluejays were annoyed that someone larger than them took over the feeding station.  They flew in and landed on the railing with hopes that the woodpecker would leave but it remained.  The entertainment lasted for about 15 minutes.  What fun!

The deer came into the yard a couple of times through the day.  Their coats were covered in snow.  My grand-daughter thought it quite funny when I mentioned that Bambi needed a winter jacket.  "Gramma, Bambi has fur!"

The snow was still falling this evening.  Some snow removal will need to be done in the morning.  I'm hoping that we can take our skis over to the ball diamond for a quick little jaunt before work.