Varied Weather, Varied Critters.

The snow on Wednesday looked pretty while it lasted. I posted some pictures of it before and I thought you might like to see this peaceful landscape. There are some geese over by the dam but they appear so small you may not be able to see them.  

Birds stand out against a white background, so I take advantage of that by taking extra pictures on a snow day. The sparrow looks cold but he was outside as the snow fell.

Red winged blackbird.

The mourning doves like to feed on the ground. Fortunately, other birds scatter seeds from the feeders so they get a share.

The day after the snow fell, much of it melted.  The robin was strutting around in the morning.

By Friday, most of the snow was gone except on the mountains. I considered going up on Skyline Drive to take a look, but the entrance was closed due to ice on the road. Along the short section of road leading to the gate, I spotted a deer on the trail that goes to Dickey Ridge. On nice days this trail is busy with hikers but it was very quiet on this day.

There are some parking spaces for the trail so I parked and quietly got out of the car and got some closer photos. I was using a zoom lens so I wasn't really as close as this looks. This deer appeared to see me but I stood still so it didn't get alarmed. I got more shots and hope to share some later.

By the way, this trailhead is within walking distance of Front Royal. It's one of the places people hike into the park without paying the fee that's charged for using Skyline Drive.

Next we see a turkey that was strutting around in a yard that's near my neighborhood.

Last but not least is a picture of Flash. His appetite has been off lately and that makes it hard to give him his pills because normally I hide them in food and this morning he wouldn't even eat treats. He finally ate a meal tonight, mostly of hamburger.