Home, To Ice and Snow

I have to love snow for its beauty, at least when it's fresh. A very light snow over the cement on our patio gave me the most perfect possible rabbit tracks. Baker's warm little paws in the morning added a grace note to the snow-dusted rabbit tracks of the night before.

Just around the corner, a set of white-footed mouse tracks. I've trapped a dozen in the basement this winter. How I wish they'd stay outside.
The snow laid a big egg in a song sparrow nest in a barberry in the front yard. Just when I decide that barberry (a potentially invasive Japanese import that was supposed to stay tiny) HAS TO GO, a song sparrow decides to nest there. If a barberry has any beauty, it's that a song sparrow can nest completely undiscovered within its dense armor. Now what?
On to more charismatic vegetation. Smilax leaves catch the cold sun. A black raspberry leaf, rimmed in ice.
A cardinal huddles in the chill wind.
I'll bring you some more icy birds tomorrow. I guess one good thing about going to Nebraska right after Guatemala is that it prepared us for the shock of snow-smothered Ohio. We're sitting in the Columbus airport, now only 2 1/2 hours from home. What a trip, what a March. Stay warm!